NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Shares of NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 102,340 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 79,099 shares.The stock last traded at $760.5850 and had previously closed at $749.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NEU shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NewMarket in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NewMarket from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $772.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $751.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.49.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $10.67 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $690.31 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 28.53%.

NewMarket Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from NewMarket’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. NewMarket’s payout ratio is presently 25.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NEU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in NewMarket by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 744,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $421,848,000 after purchasing an additional 13,411 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of NewMarket by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 268,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $222,318,000 after buying an additional 6,284 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 179,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $148,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NewMarket by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 156,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,212,000 after acquiring an additional 26,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NewMarket by 196.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 137,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,246,000 after acquiring an additional 91,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

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.