Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $96.90 and last traded at $97.21, with a volume of 69931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

Innospec Trading Up 1.1 %

The business's fifty day moving average price is $107.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.83 and a beta of 1.08.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.43 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Innospec declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding 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.

Insider Activity at Innospec

In other Innospec 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 transaction of $387,788.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. The trade was a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares in the company, valued at $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,696 shares of company stock worth $794,853 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at about $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.