Short Interest in NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) Rises By 51.1%

NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 163,500 shares, an increase of 51.1% from the February 28th total of 108,200 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded NewMarket from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

NewMarket Trading Down 1.0 %

NEU stock traded down $5.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $560.55. 11,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,880. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $533.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $532.88. NewMarket has a 1 year low of $480.00 and a 1 year high of $637.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.41.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $11.56 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 35.48%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NEU. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in NewMarket during the fourth quarter worth $252,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,917,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

About NewMarket

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.