Short Interest in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Decreases By 24.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in Innospec fell 24.3% in March to 321,014 shares, about 1.3% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 1.4 days.
• Insider selling has occurred recently: two directors sold 594 and 1,030 shares, insiders disposed of 4,989 shares over the past 90 days and now own roughly 1.31% of the company.
• Innospec beat EPS expectations ($1.50 vs. $1.26) despite a 2.4% revenue decline; the stock trades near $72.20 with a market cap of about $1.79B and an average analyst rating of "Reduce."

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 321,014 shares, a drop of 24.3% from the February 26th total of 423,870 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 230,678 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Innospec

In other news, Director David Landless sold 594 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total value of $45,476.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,305.92. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,030 shares of Innospec stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.84, for a total value of $84,295.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $784,436.40. This trade represents a 9.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,989 shares of company stock worth $391,889. 1.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Innospec by 378.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 545 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 271.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 575 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Innospec by 1,159.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Innospec by 31.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 588 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Innospec during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

Innospec Trading Down 0.2%

Innospec stock opened at $72.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Innospec has a 12-month low of $65.51 and a 12-month high of $97.36.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.24. Innospec had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 6.56%.The firm had revenue of $455.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Innospec's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Innospec will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IOSP shares. Zacks Research downgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Innospec from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Innospec from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Innospec has an average rating of "Reduce".

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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