Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Innospec Price Performance

IOSP opened at $100.62 on Thursday. Innospec has a one year low of $97.13 and a one year high of $133.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.86 and a beta of 1.08.

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 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 firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Innospec by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,672,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Innospec by 323.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 4,194 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its stake in Innospec by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 86,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,726,000 after buying an additional 15,750 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Innospec by 17.8% in 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 buying an additional 2,625 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.