Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.93 Million in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,931,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Innospec at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Innospec by 357.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,039,000 after acquiring an additional 34,811 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Innospec by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Innospec during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,457,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Innospec by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IOSP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other Innospec news, Director Leslie J. Parrette sold 446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.63, for a total transaction of $40,420.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,193.11. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Innospec Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Innospec stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 171,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,769. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.09 and a beta of 1.11. Innospec Inc. has a one year low of $80.32 and a one year high of $133.53.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.02. Innospec had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $440.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is currently 155.56%.

Innospec announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.