Wall Street brokers expect Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP – Get Rating) to post earnings per share of $1.31 for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have released earnings estimates for Innospec, with the lowest EPS estimate of $1.30 and the highest estimate of $1.32. Innospec posted earnings per share of $1.30 in the same quarter last year, suggesting a positive year-over-year growth rate of 0.8%. The company is expected to release its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1.

According to Zacks, analysts expect Innospec to report annual earnings of $5.59 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.50 to $5.68. For next year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $6.32 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $6.10 to $6.54. Zacks EPS averages are an average average based on a survey of research analysts who cover Innospec.

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP – Get Rating) last released quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 3. The specialty chemicals company reported earnings per share of $1.53 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.35. Innospec had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 12.87%. The company posted revenue of $472.40 million for the quarter, versus analyst estimates of $397.67 million. In the same quarter last year, the company achieved EPS of $1.06. Innospec’s quarterly revenue increased by 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several research companies have recently commented on the IOSP. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Innospec’s shares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a price target of $118.00 on the stock in a Wednesday, May 18 research note . Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on Innospec shares in a Wednesday, March 30 research note. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Innospec shares from a “strong buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a Monday, May 9 research report. One financial analyst gave the stock a hold rating, two issued a buy rating and one issued a strong buy rating on the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

A number of large investors have recently increased or reduced their stake in IOSP. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,891,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 7,529.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 519,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company worth $46,948,000 after purchasing an additional 512,863 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Innospec by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,268,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company worth $385,574,000 after purchasing an additional 370,154 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Innospec shares in the fourth quarter worth $20,222,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Innospec shares by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,351,487 shares of the specialty chemicals company worth $122,093,000 after acquiring 153,469 additional shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors hold 95.48% of the company’s shares.

IOSP traded at $2.31 during Friday’s trading, rising to $98.41. 86,073 shares were traded, against an average volume of 93,065. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 1.18. Innospec has a 12-month low of $81.00 and a 12-month high of $106.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $98.40 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $94.65.

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 26. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 17 received a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a return of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 16. This is a positive change from Innospec’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.59. Innospec’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Innospec Company Profile (Get a rating)

Innospec Inc develops, manufactures, blends, markets and supplies specialty chemicals in the United States, the rest of North America, the United Kingdom, the rest of Europe and internationally. The Company’s Fuel Specialties segment offers a line of specialty chemicals that are used as additives in various fuels.

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