Insider Selling: Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Director Sells 1,030 Shares of Stock

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Director Larry Padfield sold 1,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.84, for a total value of $84,295.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,294.72. The trade was a 10.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Innospec Price Performance

Shares of IOSP traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $79.30. 283,430 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,526. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.10 and a twelve month high of $105.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.91.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.24. Innospec had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $455.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Innospec’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IOSP. Weiss Ratings upgraded Innospec from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Innospec presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Innospec by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 719,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,517,000 after acquiring an additional 14,463 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Innospec by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 412,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,671,000 after purchasing an additional 29,900 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Innospec in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $873,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Innospec by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 45,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,486,000 after purchasing an additional 16,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Innospec during the 2nd quarter valued at $650,000. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Incorporated (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates through three principal business segments: Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services, and Performance Chemicals. In the Fuel Specialties segment, Innospec develops and supplies additives designed to enhance octane levels, improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions and prevent deposit formation in gasoline and diesel engines. Its Oilfield Services division provides chemical technologies—such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and demulsifiers—to support exploration, drilling, production optimization and enhanced oil recovery operations.