Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Ingevity Co. (NYSE:NGVT) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $41.87, but opened at $43.35. Ingevity shares last traded at $44.54, with a volume of 23,560 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ingevity from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.17.

Ingevity Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.77.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.50. Ingevity had a negative net margin of 38.11% and a positive return on equity of 24.46%. The company had revenue of $376.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Ingevity’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ingevity Co. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingevity

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Ingevity by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ingevity by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ingevity by 1.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Ingevity by 50.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingevity by 8.0% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingevity Company Profile

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies.