Brokerages Set Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) PT at $168.00

Shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

KWR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 1.8%

Quaker Houghton stock opened at $154.76 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 552.74, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.40. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $111.42 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.05.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.508 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is 725.00%.

Insider Transactions at Quaker Houghton

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,251,000 after buying an additional 24,573 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,793,000 after buying an additional 120,772 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 163.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 31,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 19,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

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.