Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $94.77 and last traded at $95.07, with a volume of 52903 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Innospec Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.04 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.57.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. Equities analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853 in the last three months. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Innospec by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 336,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,057,000 after purchasing an additional 11,479 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Innospec by 24.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after buying an additional 52,640 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,633 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Innospec by 5.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Innospec by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 10,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

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.