Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $2,931,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Innospec at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Innospec during the 4th quarter worth $106,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 967 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Innospec by 54.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Innospec by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Innospec by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IOSP. Seaport Res Ptn raised Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Innospec Stock Performance

IOSP traded up $0.42 on Monday, hitting $89.41. 21,927 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,195. Innospec Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.32 and a fifty-two week high of $133.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.76 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $91.37 and its 200 day moving average is $104.77.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 1.93%. The business had revenue of $440.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Innospec's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 1.7%. Innospec's dividend payout ratio is 155.56%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Philip John Boon sold 3,754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total value 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 represents a 15.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Corbin Barnes sold 2,692 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.30, for a total transaction of $278,083.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $831,668.30. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,142 shares of company stock worth $835,274 over the last 90 days. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Innospec Profile

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.