Vest Financial LLC Invests $1.93 Million in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,931,000. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Innospec at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 77,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,368,000 after acquiring an additional 6,602 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Innospec by 7,113.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 33,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,780,000 after buying an additional 33,077 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth about $2,931,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Innospec by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 89,018 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after buying an additional 12,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Innospec by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 298,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,808,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $86.13 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.32 and a 12 month high of $133.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.65 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.54.

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

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

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total value of $40,420.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,193.11. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on IOSP. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.