Short Interest in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Expands By 7.5%

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 299,800 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 278,900 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 113,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Innospec Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:IOSP traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $110.06. The company had a trading volume of 128,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,997. Innospec has a 1 year low of $103.97 and a 1 year high of $133.71. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.12 and a 200 day moving average of $115.98.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35. Innospec had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The firm had revenue of $443.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. Innospec's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Innospec will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Innospec's previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. Innospec's payout ratio is presently 27.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Innospec from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total transaction of $127,222.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. The trade was a 10.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innospec

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IOSP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Innospec by 2.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,923,000 after buying an additional 6,148 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Innospec by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 17,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Innospec by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Innospec by 199.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 10,921 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

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.