Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 130,956 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,982,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of 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 increased its position in shares of 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, Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 10,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $143.56 on Wednesday. Quaker Houghton has a one year low of $111.32 and a one year high of $183.01. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 512.73, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.43.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued 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 net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 725.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KWR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.00.

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.