Wall Street Zen Downgrades Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a change in market outlook issued to investors.
• Innospec's latest quarterly earnings revealed an EPS of $1.26, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.17, although revenue fell slightly short of expectations at $439.70 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant 96.64% stake in Innospec, with several large firms increasing their holdings during the second quarter.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of Innospec stock opened at $79.55 on Friday. Innospec has a 52 week low of $74.10 and a 52 week high of $128.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 101.99 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Innospec by 27.5% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 801 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Innospec by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,939,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Innospec by 38.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Innospec by 4.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 2.9% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.64% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.