StockNews.com Downgrades NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of NewMarket (NYSE:NEU - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

NewMarket Stock Performance

NYSE:NEU traded down $5.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $542.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,155. NewMarket has a fifty-two week low of $480.00 and a fifty-two week high of $650.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $514.71 and its 200-day moving average is $534.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NewMarket

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NewMarket by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 731,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $386,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,951 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in NewMarket by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 229,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $127,132,000 after acquiring an additional 8,979 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NewMarket by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 198,065 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $104,648,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in NewMarket by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 170,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $94,314,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in NewMarket by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 170,218 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $89,938,000 after acquiring an additional 4,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.