Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $166.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KWR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Quaker Houghton Trading Down 0.1%

KWR stock opened at $141.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.69. Quaker Houghton has a 52 week low of $103.36 and a 52 week high of $183.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 506.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.42.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Quaker Houghton’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is 725.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties and sustainable solutions for industrial applications. The company develops and supplies metalworking fluids, coatings, and corrosion inhibitors, as well as heat transfer, lubrication and additive products designed to improve productivity and extend equipment life. Its portfolio addresses a range of end markets including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, mining, agriculture and heavy industry.

The company traces its roots back to the founding of Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1918 and Houghton International in 1865.