Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Innospec Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $97.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.75. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 68.56 and a beta of 1.08. Innospec has a 12-month low of $95.17 and a 12-month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value 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 trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853 over the last ninety days. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Innospec by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Innospec by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Innospec by 5.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 7.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.