Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $96.90 and last traded at $97.21, with a volume of 69931 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $97.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Innospec Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.08 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its 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. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 approximately $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.