NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 80,100 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the October 15th total of 65,600 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 27,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NewMarket

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,399 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in NewMarket by 10.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in NewMarket by 23.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in NewMarket by 895.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in NewMarket by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,858,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 61.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NewMarket from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

NewMarket Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE NEU traded up $4.93 on Friday, hitting $549.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,362. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. NewMarket has a 1-year low of $494.04 and a 1-year high of $650.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $541.59 and its 200 day moving average is $541.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.50.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $13.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $724.95 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.57% and a return on equity of 35.79%.

NewMarket Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $2.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $10.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.21%.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils.