Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Holdings in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,731 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,401 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 1.98% of Quaker Houghton worth $47,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KWR. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 10,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 195.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,953 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KWR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

KWR opened at $123.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,033.16, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. 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 12-month low of $95.91 and a 12-month high of $183.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.05.

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

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.508 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,691.67%.

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.