Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Innospec Price Performance

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $92.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.87. Innospec has a 12 month low of $80.32 and a 12 month high of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.17 and a beta of 1.11.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $447.43 million. Analysts anticipate that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares in the company, valued at $865,240.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Innospec by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Innospec by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Innospec by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,649,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Innospec by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 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.