Short Interest in NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) Rises By 31.6%

NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 617,168 shares, an increase of 31.6% from the February 26th total of 468,930 shares. Approximately 7.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 170,040 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewMarket

In related news, Director Ting Xu bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $619.21 per share, with a total value of $247,684.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,246.09. The trade was a 75.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewMarket

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NewMarket during the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in NewMarket by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in NewMarket by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in NewMarket by 1,992.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,148 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 4,902 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 10,687.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 863 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NewMarket from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NewMarket presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

NewMarket Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:NEU traded up $1.13 on Monday, hitting $628.46. 100,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,131. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $636.41 and a 200-day moving average of $717.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NewMarket has a fifty-two week low of $510.07 and a fifty-two week high of $875.97.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $635.40 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 25.38% and a net margin of 15.37%.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. NewMarket’s payout ratio is currently 27.01%.

NewMarket Company Profile

NewMarket Corporation is a specialty chemicals and lubricants company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its Valvoline business, the company markets a broad portfolio of automotive aftermarket products, including engine oils, transmission fluids, greases and vehicle care solutions. Valvoline products are distributed through retail and commercial channels as well as a network of quick-lube service centers that provide oil changes, preventive maintenance and related services.

In its chemical additives segment, NewMarket develops, manufactures and sells performance additives for fuels, lubricants and industrial fluids.