Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Innospec Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $104.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 73.25 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.31. Innospec has a 52 week low of $99.49 and a 52 week high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Innospec by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after acquiring an additional 11,231 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Innospec by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,500,000 after purchasing an additional 14,188 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 9.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after purchasing an additional 70,902 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Innospec by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,184,000 after buying an additional 14,788 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.