NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) Posts Earnings Results

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $12.62 EPS for the quarter, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $669.72 million for the quarter. NewMarket had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 24.26%.

NewMarket Trading Up 6.3%

Shares of NEU opened at $682.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.53. NewMarket has a fifty-two week low of $574.71 and a fifty-two week high of $875.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $625.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $696.03.

NewMarket Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. NewMarket’s payout ratio is presently 27.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NewMarket

In other NewMarket news, Director Ting Xu acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $619.21 per share, for a total transaction of $247,684.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 929 shares in the company, valued at $575,246.09. The trade was a 75.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NewMarket

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEU. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 196.7% in the 3rd 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. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 376.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 99,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,205,000 after acquiring an additional 78,422 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of NewMarket by 7,743.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 75,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,069,000 after acquiring an additional 74,797 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 112.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 67,633 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,014,000 after purchasing an additional 35,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 748.6% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 30,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,087,000 after purchasing an additional 26,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.