Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Given “Buy” Rating at Truist Financial

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Truist Financial in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $190.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $172.00. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on KWR. Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $177.00 target price on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.67.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 6.8%

KWR traded up $10.96 on Monday, hitting $171.47. The company had a trading volume of 19,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,596. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $112.18 and a 12-month high of $183.01. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quaker Houghton news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $983,655.96. The trade was a 9.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,251,000 after buying an additional 24,573 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,793,000 after buying an additional 120,772 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter worth about $21,132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

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.