Innospec (IOSP) Up 27% In 3 Months: What's Driving It?

Shares of Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) have gained around 27% over the last three months. The company has also outperformed its industry’s gain of roughly 12% over the same time frame.

Innospec has a market cap of roughly $1.7 billion. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months is around 89.8K.

Let’s take a look into the factors that are driving this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.

Driving Factors

Solid third-quarter results have contributed to a rally in the company’s shares. The company posted a profit of $23.3 million or 95 cents per share in third-quarter 2017, more than doubling from $11.4 million or 47 cents per share a year ago. Adjusted earnings of $1.00 per share for the quarter topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents.

The company’s revenues soared 62% year over year to $332.4 million in the quarter. The top line was driven by strong sales gains across all core businesses.

Innospec has an impressive earnings surprise history as the company has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 12.9%.

Innospec, in its third-quarter call, said that it is positive about the balance of 2017 and is optimistic about 2018. The company will remain focused on further improving operating margins. Innospec will also focus on developing new technologies that are closely aligned to its customers' requirements. The company also noted that strength of its balance sheet allows it to participate in acquisition projects that will create shareholder value.

Innospec is gaining from its balanced portfolio and strategic focus on major end markets. Moreover, Innospec’s new fully-owned enterprise in China, Innospec Chemical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., is expected to help to gradually extend the company’s footprint in global markets as demand for specialty chemicals continues to grow, especially in China. It will also allow the company to manage and trade inventory locally and expand business in a thriving market.

Innospec will be able to improve customer services across all businesses in China including, performance chemicals, fuel specialties and oilfield services, as it looks forward to develop profitable solutions for long-term growth.

Innospec Inc. Price and Consensus

Innospec Inc. Price and Consensus | Innospec Inc. Quote

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked companies in the basic materials space include Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) , Kraton Corporation (NYSE:KRA) and Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ingevity has an expected long-term earnings growth of 12%. The stock has gained around 37% year to date.

Kraton has an expected earnings growth of 25.4% for the current year. Its shares are up roughly 69% year to date.

Westlake has an expected long-term earnings growth of 10.5%. Its shares are up roughly 69% year to date.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>