Short Interest in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Rises By 52.8%

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 458,800 shares, a growth of 52.8% from the February 28th total of 300,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 209,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value of $387,788.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $829,736.06. This trade represents a 6.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Innospec

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

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of Innospec stock traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, reaching $93.99. 96,874 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,300. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.32 and a beta of 1.08. Innospec has a 52 week low of $93.32 and a 52 week high of $133.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $105.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.47.

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

Innospec announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.