Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $803,000 in Innospec Inc. $IOSP

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $803,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Innospec by 175.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 490,884 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,844,000 after purchasing an additional 312,680 shares during the last quarter. Western Standard LLC grew its position in Innospec by 894.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Standard LLC now owns 268,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,541,000 after buying an additional 241,367 shares during the period. Medina Value Partners LLC bought a new stake in Innospec during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,206,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Innospec by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 484,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,119,000 after buying an additional 202,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Innospec by 8,176.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 170,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,147,000 after buying an additional 168,355 shares during the last quarter. 96.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several 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 research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Innospec from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Innospec Stock Performance

Innospec stock opened at $83.10 on Monday. Innospec Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.51 and a 12-month high of $92.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.80 and a 200 day moving average of $78.65.

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

Innospec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a yield of 239.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Innospec’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.09%.

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.