Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $96.90 and last traded at $97.21, with a volume of 69931 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Innospec Stock Up 1.3 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.55. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08.

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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 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.