Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Innospec has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a positive shift in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• The company reported $1.26 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, but saw revenue of $439.70 million, slightly below the estimates.
• Institutional investors own approximately 96.64% of Innospec's stock, with several large hedge funds increasing their stakes significantly in the first quarter.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

IOSP has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Innospec from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Innospec from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP opened at $73.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.39. Innospec has a 52 week low of $73.72 and a 52 week high of $128.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 94.77 and a beta of 1.04.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.09. Innospec had a net margin of 1.08% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $439.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $440.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innospec

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,966,000. Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,107,000. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Innospec in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,212,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Innospec by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,106,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $104,839,000 after purchasing an additional 184,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Innospec by 8,176.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 170,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,147,000 after purchasing an additional 168,355 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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