Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.67.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $141.69 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 has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of -1,180.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.34. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $95.91 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.55.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.17 million. Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 0.13%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is -1,691.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KWR. QSV Equity Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,191,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 176.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 54,443 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,094,000 after acquiring an additional 34,731 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 21.3% in the second quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 46,853 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 8,215 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 10.4% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 87,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter worth about $280,000. 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.