Short Interest in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) Decreases By 6.8%

Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the March 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 81,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 13.4 days.

Quaker Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of KWR opened at $188.43 on Thursday. Quaker Chemical has a 1 year low of $138.67 and a 1 year high of $221.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $198.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.49.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $467.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.55 million. Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quaker Chemical will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Chemical declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 15th. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Quaker Chemical from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Quaker Chemical in the third quarter worth $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical by 345.9% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Chemical during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Chemical Company Profile

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.