Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 38,261 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $93,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KWR. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 661,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $87,204,000 after purchasing an additional 293,977 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,132,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,982,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1,569.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 139,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $19,126,000 after purchasing an additional 130,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 121,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KWR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quaker Houghton news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of Quaker Houghton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $148.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 530.09, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.11 and its 200 day moving average is $145.61. Quaker Houghton has a twelve month low of $111.42 and a twelve month high of $183.01. 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 (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.