Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 458,800 shares, a growth of 52.8% from the February 28th total of 300,200 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 209,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $865,240.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Innospec in the fourth quarter worth about $53,457,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,992,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Innospec during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,312,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 24.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Innospec in the third quarter worth approximately $5,486,000. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Innospec Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ IOSP traded down $2.19 on Friday, reaching $95.20. 123,563 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,220. Innospec has a one year low of $94.77 and a one year high of $133.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 67.04 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.55.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million during 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.