StockNews.com Downgrades Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of IOSP opened at $98.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $107.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.41. Innospec has a 1 year low of $96.39 and a 1 year high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853 in the last ninety days. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innospec

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Innospec by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Innospec by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 17,409 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,625 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Innospec by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after acquiring an additional 70,902 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Innospec by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 59,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,740,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Innospec during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,726,000. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.