Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) Short Interest Up 7.5% in December

Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 299,800 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 278,900 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 113,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Transactions at Innospec

In other news, Director Milton C. Blackmore sold 1,035 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.92, for a total value of $127,222.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,721.76. The trade was a 10.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Innospec by 4.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,405,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,069,000 after acquiring an additional 105,311 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Innospec by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,805,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,189,000 after purchasing an additional 11,231 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Innospec by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,744 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Innospec by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $102,689,000 after buying an additional 41,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Innospec by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 835,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,468,000 after buying an additional 70,902 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Innospec Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IOSP opened at $110.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.09. Innospec has a 1-year low of $103.97 and a 1-year high of $133.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.98.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35. The business had revenue of $443.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.13 million. Innospec had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 7.68%. Innospec’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Innospec will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.72. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.57%.

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.