Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Innospec Stock Up 0.9 %

IOSP opened at $86.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.58. Innospec has a twelve month low of $80.32 and a twelve month high of $133.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.06 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of Innospec 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 in the last ninety days. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Innospec during the fourth quarter worth about $106,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Innospec by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.