Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 0.0%

Quaker Houghton stock opened at $120.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $95.91 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.78. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,004.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.06). Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 0.13%.The business had revenue of $468.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,691.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 68,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,314 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 12,361.9% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,942,000 after buying an additional 95,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,222,000. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

About Quaker Houghton

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.