Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 383,000 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the March 15th total of 458,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 217,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IOSP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other Innospec news, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total value of $61,629.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,736.06. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,160.70. This trade represents a 15.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,696 shares of company stock valued at $794,853. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innospec

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IOSP. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Innospec by 5.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Innospec by 357.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 34,811 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Innospec by 63.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Innospec by 8.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Innospec by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,688 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,160,000 after purchasing an additional 52,640 shares during the period. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Innospec Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ IOSP traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 131,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,652. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.17. Innospec has a twelve month low of $80.32 and a twelve month high of $133.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.23 and a beta of 1.03.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.05. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.