Ingevity (NGVT) has completed the sale of its North Charleston Crude Tall Oil refinery assets and most of its Performance Chemicals Industrial Specialties line to Mainstream Pine Products, LLC, marking a clear shift toward higher margin specialty materials.

The latest move comes after a period of stronger momentum, with a 13.57% 1 month share price return and a 12.40% 3 month share price return. The 1 year total shareholder return of 51.70% contrasts with weaker 3 and 5 year total shareholder returns.

If this kind of portfolio reshaping has your attention, it could be a good moment to broaden your watchlist and check out fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

With the shares up strongly over the past year, trading at US$60.09 and sitting about 16% below the average analyst price target, along with a large estimated intrinsic discount, you have to ask: is Ingevity still undervalued or is the market already pricing in future growth?

Most Popular Narrative: 13.5% Undervalued

The widely followed narrative puts fair value for Ingevity around US$69.50, compared with the last close at US$60.09, framing a material upside gap before you even consider the detailed assumptions.

Substantial investments in innovation and engineered additives, especially in applications such as EV battery materials (via the Nexeon partnership) and process purification, position Ingevity to capture new demand arising from the increased global focus on sustainability and decarbonization, providing future top-line growth opportunities as industries transition to green technologies.

Curious what kind of revenue path, margin rebuild, and future earnings multiple would support that higher value on a specialty materials name like this? The most followed narrative lays out a full set of forecasts tying those elements together into a single fair value line.

Result: Fair Value of $69.50 (UNDERVALUED)

However, that upside story still runs into real friction, especially if tariff pressures persist in Advanced Polymer Technologies or if competitive pricing further squeezes already lower margin expectations.

Another View: Valuation Gap Cuts Both Ways

That 13.5% upside narrative sits awkwardly next to our SWS fair value work, which points to a much larger gap. On P/S, Ingevity trades at 1.6x versus 1.1x for the US Chemicals industry, 1.2x for peers, and an SWS fair ratio of 1.2x, which signals a clear valuation tension. Is the big discount story or the richer sales multiple closer to how the market could eventually price this business?

Build Your Own Ingevity Narrative

If you look at the numbers and come to a different conclusion, or just want to test your own assumptions, you can build a custom Ingevity story in a few minutes with Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Ingevity research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

Looking for more investment ideas?

If Ingevity has sparked your interest, do not stop here; broaden your opportunity set and see what else could fit your style before the market moves first.

• Spot potential early movers by reviewing these 3564 penny stocks with strong financials that line up strong financials with lower share prices.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.