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

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

Innospec Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $98.09 on Friday. Innospec has a 52-week low of $96.39 and a 52-week high of $133.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.77 and a 200 day moving average of $111.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % 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. 1.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOSP. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,625 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Innospec by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after purchasing an additional 70,902 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Innospec by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 59,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,740,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Innospec in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

About Innospec

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.