Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Innospec Inc. $IOSP

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 1,159.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Innospec by 31.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Innospec in the third quarter worth about $46,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 27.5% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 65.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In related news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total value of $45,476.64. Following the sale, the director owned 10,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,176.80. The trade was a 5.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Padfield sold 594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total transaction of $45,476.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,453 shares in the company, valued at $723,721.68. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,929 shares of company stock worth $223,298. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Innospec from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Innospec from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP stock opened at $79.58 on Tuesday. Innospec Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.51 and a 1 year high of $92.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $453.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.14 million. Innospec had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 9.32%. Innospec’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a yield of 239.0%. Innospec’s payout ratio is presently 40.09%.

About Innospec

Innospec Incorporated (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates through three principal business segments: Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services, and Performance Chemicals. In the Fuel Specialties segment, Innospec develops and supplies additives designed to enhance octane levels, improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions and prevent deposit formation in gasoline and diesel engines. Its Oilfield Services division provides chemical technologies—such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and demulsifiers—to support exploration, drilling, production optimization and enhanced oil recovery operations.