Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $88.25 and last traded at $89.43, with a volume of 73992 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Innospec Trading Down 7.5 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.29 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $466.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.43 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In related news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $61,629.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $865,240.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 46.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 10,162 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Innospec by 324.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 10,445 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Innospec by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,364 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Innospec in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,258,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Innospec by 5.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company’s stock.

About Innospec

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.