Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KWR shares. Wall Street Zen raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $120.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.78. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $95.91 and a 52-week high of $183.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,004.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 period. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 712,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $97,839,000 after acquiring an additional 36,790 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 596,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,785,000 after acquiring an additional 50,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 469,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,533,000 after purchasing an additional 118,321 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.