First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. Makes New $7.70 Million Investment in Innospec Inc. $IOSP

First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 100,574 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,698,000. Innospec makes up 1.9% of First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. owned 0.41% of Innospec as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Innospec by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 484,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,119,000 after buying an additional 202,325 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Innospec by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 481,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,152,000 after buying an additional 131,483 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Innospec by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 375,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,961,000 after buying an additional 79,833 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Innospec by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 354,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,316,000 after buying an additional 47,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Standard LLC lifted its holdings in Innospec by 894.0% during the 4th quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 268,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,541,000 after buying an additional 241,367 shares in the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Innospec Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of IOSP opened at $85.86 on Friday. Innospec Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.51 and a twelve month high of $92.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.03. Innospec had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The business had revenue of $453.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Innospec Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Innospec Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a yield of 239.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Innospec from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Innospec from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Innospec Company Profile

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.