Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $103.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.25. Innospec has a 52 week low of $99.49 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 72.82 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IOSP. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 503.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 779 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Innospec by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 83,843 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,482,000 after buying an additional 7,616 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Innospec by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Innospec by 323.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 4,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its position in shares of Innospec by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 86,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,726,000 after acquiring an additional 15,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

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.