Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Innospec from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Innospec in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Innospec Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ IOSP opened at $97.88 on Friday. Innospec has a 52 week low of $65.51 and a 52 week high of $100.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.93.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.22. Innospec had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $491.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Innospec will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Innospec during the second quarter worth $356,596,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 5.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,242,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,698,000 after acquiring an additional 66,967 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Innospec by 175.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 490,884 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after acquiring an additional 312,680 shares in the last quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Innospec by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 378,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,991,000 after acquiring an additional 142,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Innospec during the second quarter valued at $19,276,000. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies products used in the energy, transportation, personal care, household, agriculture and industrial markets. Its offerings are designed to improve product performance, support manufacturing processes and address specialized customer requirements.

The company operates through businesses focused on fuel specialties, performance chemicals and oilfield services. Its products include fuel additives and performance-enhancing chemicals for gasoline, diesel and other fuels, as well as ingredients and formulations used in personal care, home care, crop protection, construction, mining and other industrial applications.