Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $2.93 Million Investment in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,931,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 5,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 188.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 38,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,186,000 after buying an additional 24,863 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,983 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after buying an additional 8,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 141.0% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 43,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,804,000 after buying an additional 25,533 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IOSP. StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Price Performance

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $90.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.70 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.24. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.32 and a 1 year high of $133.59.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The business had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This is an increase from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.56%.

Innospec declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc develops, manufactures, blends, markets, and supplies specialty chemicals in the United States, rest of North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company's Fuel Specialties segment offers a range of specialty chemical products that are used as additives in additives in diesel, jet, marine, fuel oil and other fuels.