Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th.

Innospec Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $76.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.03 and a beta of 1.06. Innospec has a 1 year low of $71.06 and a 1 year high of $124.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.21 and a 200-day moving average of $83.27.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. Innospec had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 1.08%.The firm had revenue of $441.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a yield of 237.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. Innospec’s payout ratio is -5,800.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Innospec by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,554,000 after buying an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the 2nd quarter worth about $345,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after acquiring an additional 10,309 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Innospec by 63.2% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 327,289 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,011,000 after acquiring an additional 126,750 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Innospec by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,023 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 5,178 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.