Innospec (IOSP) Hits 52-Week High: What's Driving The Stock?

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) have scaled a fresh 52-week high of $94.27 on Jul 5, before closing the session at $94.22.

The company has a market cap of roughly $2.31 billion. Average volume of shares traded in the past three months was around 105.4K. The company has expected earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of 6.6% for 2019.

The stock has gained 15.6% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s 34.2% decline.

What’s Driving the Rally?

Upbeat prospects for 2019 along with the company’s focus on organic growth have contributed to the gain in Innospec’s shares.

In May, Innospec stated that it will remain focused on organic growth to develop innovative technologies along with potential acquisition opportunities. The company is making investments on organic growth projects. It expects attractive business prospects for the rest of 2019 and beyond.

The company is gaining from balanced portfolio and strategic focus on major end markets. It continues to focus on growing sales and improving margins. It is striving to improve the effectiveness of operations. Also, it has significant organic growth projects in its pipeline.

Moreover, the company is engaged in acquisition opportunities leveraging its strong balance sheet and cash flows, which is likely to strengthen the business.

Earnings estimates for Innospec for 2019 have also moved up over the past three months. Over this period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year has increased by around 3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for 2019 is currently pegged at $5.15 per share, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 6.6%. The same for the second quarter of 2019 stands at $1.12, indicating an expected year-over-year growth of 12%.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Innospec currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are BHP Billiton (LON:BHPB) Limited (NYSE:BHP) , Flexible Solutions International Inc (NYSE:FSI) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (OTC:FSUGY) . These stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BHP Billiton has an expected earnings growth rate of 39.9% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 11.4% in the past year.

Flexible Solutions has projected earnings growth rate of 342.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 158.2% in a year’s time.

Fortescue Metals has an estimated earnings growth rate of 294.2% for the current year. Its shares have rallied 86.1% in the past year.

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