Short Interest in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Expands By 52.8%

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 458,800 shares, a growth of 52.8% from the February 28th total of 300,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 209,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $831,668.30. This represents a 25.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOSP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Innospec by 3.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 336,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,479 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Innospec by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Innospec by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 5.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Innospec by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 10,162 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of IOSP stock traded down $0.45 on Monday, hitting $94.75. 196,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,449. Innospec has a twelve month low of $92.84 and a twelve month high of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 66.73 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.47.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $466.80 million during 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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.