Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $100.48 and last traded at $100.50, with a volume of 34,566 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $98.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on IOSP shares. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Innospec in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Innospec from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Innospec Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.10.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $491.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Innospec

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOSP. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Innospec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Innospec by 61.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Innospec in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Innospec by 44.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 17.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 319,633 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,467,000 after acquiring an additional 46,851 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc (NASDAQ: IOSP) is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets products used in the fuel, oilfield, personal care and industrial markets. The company serves customers through a portfolio of chemical additives, formulations and technical services designed to improve product performance, efficiency and reliability.

Innospec operates through businesses focused on fuel specialties, performance chemicals and oilfield services. Its fuel-related products include fuel additives for gasoline, diesel, marine and other applications, including detergents, lubricity improvers, cetane improvers and other performance-enhancing formulations.