Quaker Houghton $KWR Shares Purchased by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 120,772 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $55,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Quaker Houghton in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KWR. 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 report on Friday, April 17th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Insider Transactions at Quaker Houghton

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 0.2%

Quaker Houghton stock opened at $143.56 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $111.32 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 512.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.43.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The company had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is presently 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.