Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Innospec Trading Down 2.6 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.51 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Innospec news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $387,788.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $829,736.06. This represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innospec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Innospec in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Innospec by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Innospec by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Innospec by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.