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

NewMarket Co. (NYSE:NEU) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 47,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of NewMarket

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,524 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 495 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,395,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

NewMarket Price Performance

Shares of NewMarket stock traded down $6.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $552.19. 36,138 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,919. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.75. NewMarket has a 1-year low of $480.00 and a 1-year high of $637.40. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $532.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.78.

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

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $2.75 dividend. This is an increase from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. NewMarket’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.82%.

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.