Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $88.25 and last traded at $89.43, with a volume of 73992 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Innospec Trading Down 3.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.43 million. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOSP. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Innospec in the third quarter worth about $1,258,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 28,363 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,208,000 after buying an additional 15,545 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Innospec by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,669,000 after acquiring an additional 20,744 shares during the period. 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.