Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ingevity Corporation's shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $55.89 before settling at $55.35 on a volume of nearly 292,000 shares.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ingevity, with BMO Capital Markets setting a new target of $62.00, signaling increased optimism about the company's performance.
• Ingevity reported quarterly earnings of $1.39 per share, beating estimates, but faced a decline in revenue, which was down 6.5% year-over-year.

Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $55.89 and last traded at $55.35, with a volume of 291794 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NGVT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ingevity from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingevity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ingevity from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th.

Ingevity Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.78 and a 200-day moving average of $42.37.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.37. Ingevity had a positive return on equity of 84.92% and a negative net margin of 16.35%. The firm had revenue of $365.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $378.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ingevity Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingevity

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Ingevity by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 37,055 shares of the company's stock worth $1,510,000 after buying an additional 11,742 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ingevity by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 172,065 shares of the company's stock worth $7,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,216 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ingevity during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,018,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ingevity by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ingevity by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 207,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,435,000 after purchasing an additional 11,407 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies.