Western Standard LLC Acquires 241,367 Shares of Innospec Inc. $IOSP

Key Points

• Western Standard LLC acquired 241,367 shares of Innospec in Q4 (an 894% increase), bringing its stake to 268,367 shares — about 9.5% of the firm's portfolio and roughly 1.08% of Innospec worth $20.54 million.
• Institutional ownership is high at 96.64%, with multiple hedge funds (including Millennium, Qube Research and Jane Street) materially increasing positions in recent quarters.
• Innospec recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.05 vs. $1.02) with revenue up 2.8% year-over-year, and announced a $0.92 dividend payable May 29 (ex-dividend May 19) with a payout ratio of 37.18%.

Western Standard LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) by 894.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 268,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 241,367 shares during the period. Innospec accounts for approximately 9.5% of Western Standard LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Western Standard LLC owned approximately 1.08% of Innospec worth $20,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Medina Value Partners LLC purchased a new position in Innospec during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,206,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Innospec by 8,176.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 170,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,147,000 after buying an additional 168,355 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Innospec by 72.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 306,761 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,796,000 after buying an additional 128,544 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Innospec by 1,551.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 95,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,024,000 after buying an additional 89,476 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Innospec by 68.0% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 219,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,423,000 after buying an additional 88,661 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IOSP has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Innospec from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Innospec from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Landless sold 594 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total transaction of $45,476.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,305.92. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David B. Jones sold 1,028 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.64, for a total value of $77,757.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,378.52. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,989 shares of company stock valued at $391,889. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Innospec Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $76.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $73.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.59. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.51 and a 12-month high of $95.55.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.03. Innospec had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 240.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is 37.18%.

About Innospec

Innospec Incorporated NASDAQ: IOSP is a global specialty chemicals company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company operates through three principal business segments: Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services, and Performance Chemicals. In the Fuel Specialties segment, Innospec develops and supplies additives designed to enhance octane levels, improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions and prevent deposit formation in gasoline and diesel engines. Its Oilfield Services division provides chemical technologies—such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and demulsifiers—to support exploration, drilling, production optimization and enhanced oil recovery operations.

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