Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 131,503 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 127,023 shares.The stock last traded at $98.51 and had previously closed at $96.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Innospec Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.56 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.75.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $466.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.43 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $67,351.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,240.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Innospec by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after acquiring an additional 11,231 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $101,500,000 after purchasing an additional 14,188 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Innospec by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,457,000. 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.