NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $876.33 and last traded at $862.8310, with a volume of 162423 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $787.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on NEU shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NewMarket from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised NewMarket from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

NewMarket Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $787.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $699.54.

NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $14.54 EPS for the quarter. NewMarket had a return on equity of 24.62% and a net margin of 15.80%.The business had revenue of $747.09 million during the quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NewMarket

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in NewMarket by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,440 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NewMarket during the 2nd quarter valued at about $273,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in NewMarket by 39.7% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 419 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in NewMarket by 23.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 292 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NewMarket by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,713 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $22,890,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.09% of the company’s stock.

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.