Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business’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 directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Innospec in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 98.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Innospec by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 336,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,057,000 after purchasing an additional 11,479 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Innospec by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 10,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Innospec by 324.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 10,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

Innospec Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:IOSP traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $93.99. The company had a trading volume of 96,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,300. Innospec has a 52 week low of $93.32 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.32 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.47.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $466.80 million during 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, equities analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.