Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Houghton

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of Quaker Houghton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton in the third quarter worth approximately $5,035,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,376,000 after acquiring an additional 305,537 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,251,000 after acquiring an additional 24,573 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 633,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $83,514,000 after acquiring an additional 19,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR opened at $150.10 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $111.32 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 536.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The company had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Quaker Houghton’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is 725.00%.

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

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.