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What Drove Innospec Inc. (IOSP) to a New 52-week High?

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Shares of Innospec Inc. (IOSP - Free Report) reached a new 52-week high of $61.00 on Aug 24, before closing the trading session slightly lower at $60.05. This apex improved upon the last 52-week high of $60.93 on Aug 23.

As of Aug 24, the stock yielded a year-to-date return of 11.3%. The trading volume for the session was 0.07 million shares. Earnings estimate revisions for 2016 and 2017 indicate the stock’s potential for further price appreciation.

Growth Drivers

Financial performance of Innospec Inc. over the last four quarters has been impressive, with an average positive earnings surprise of 15.15%. Last quarter, the company’s earnings of $1.03 per share exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents by 8.4%. Also, the bottom line improved over the year-ago tally of $1.02.

For 2016, Innospec Inc. anticipates benefiting from its organic and inorganic growth strategies. The company has agreed to acquire Huntsman Corporations’ personal care and home care businesses in Europe. The acquisition, once completed will boost the company’s revenue generation capabilities by allowing deeper penetration into the European personal and home care markets.

Also, the company believes that new product offering will support higher demand in its Fuel Specialties business, while increase in manufacturing investments in the Performance Chemicals business will be advantageous. Moreover, slight improvements in the Oilfield Services business are anticipated.

We believe that impressive results, outlook and the acquisition announcement have created positive momentum for Innospec Inc., driving the company’s share price higher by 19.1% since Aug 5.

Estimate Revisions Show Potency

Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Innospec Inc. grew 4.1% to $3.80 for 2016 and 28.1% to $4.10 for 2017. The estimate for 2017 represents year-over-year growth of 7.9%.

INNOSPEC INC Price and Consensus

 

INNOSPEC INC Price and Consensus | INNOSPEC INC Quote

With a market capitalization of $1.4 billion, Innospec Inc. sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other similarly-ranked stocks in the chemical-diversified industry include The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) , Innophos Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MTLHY - Free Report) .

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