Innospec Inc. Announces Semi-Annual Dividend of $0.72 (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) declared a Semi-Annual dividend on Thursday, May 9th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.72 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Friday, May 31st. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th.

Innospec has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Innospec has a payout ratio of 19.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Innospec to earn $7.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.5%.

Innospec Stock Up 3.9 %

IOSP traded up $4.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.22. 189,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 80,294. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $124.18 and its 200 day moving average is $117.73. Innospec has a 12 month low of $91.74 and a 12 month high of $133.71.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $500.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $508.15 million. Innospec had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 14.41%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Innospec will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, SVP David B. Jones sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $314,475.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,215,634.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Patrick Williams sold 9,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $1,208,471.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 164,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,585,021.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David B. Jones sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $314,475.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,634.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,532,959. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Innospec from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday.

Innospec Company 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.