Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Reduces Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. trimmed its holdings in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 273,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,687 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 1.58% of Quaker Houghton worth $34,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KWR. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 7.1% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KWR. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price target for the company. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Houghton

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of KWR stock opened at $160.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 574.82, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.40. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $111.42 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.21.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.Quaker Houghton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton 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.