Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $95.17 and last traded at $95.97, with a volume of 149645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Innospec Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.61 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.94 and a 200-day moving average of $110.87.

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 company 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,668.30. This represents a 25.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $67,351.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at $2,931,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Innospec by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 89,018 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,797,000 after acquiring an additional 12,825 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Innospec by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 298,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,808,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Innospec by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 10,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in Innospec by 167.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.