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

Shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $187.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on KWR shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

Insider Transactions at Quaker Houghton

In related news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 14,543.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,499,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,906 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $335,290,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,942,000 after purchasing an additional 95,100 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after purchasing an additional 121,854 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $93,271,000 after purchasing an additional 38,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of KWR opened at $160.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.40. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $112.18 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.The firm had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

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.