Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $72.17, but opened at $77.46. Ingevity shares last traded at $70.9790, with a volume of 52,536 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NGVT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingevity from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ingevity in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ingevity from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ingevity to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ingevity from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ingevity currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.50.

Ingevity Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.39, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.90 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.03.

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $333.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.43 million. Ingevity had a negative net margin of 5.14% and a positive return on equity of 103.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ingevity Corporation will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ingevity

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ingevity by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 652,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,599,000 after purchasing an additional 475,907 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingevity by 311.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 600,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,769,000 after buying an additional 454,579 shares in the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ingevity by 188.8% in the 2nd quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC now owns 624,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,928,000 after acquiring an additional 408,508 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Ingevity during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,171,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Ingevity by 15.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,566,000 after acquiring an additional 230,525 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation, traded as NGVT, is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina. The company operates two primary business units: Performance Chemicals and Performance Materials. The Performance Chemicals segment produces and markets specialty chemicals derived largely from wood and other natural feedstocks, including rosin acids, tall oil fatty acids and esters, as well as specialty petroleum resins. These products serve a broad range of industries, including paper, adhesives, coatings, oilfield drilling and consumer goods.

The Performance Materials segment develops and manufactures activated carbon products and composites for applications such as automotive emissions control, industrial air and water purification, and spill containment.