Quaker Houghton $KWR Shares Purchased by Dean Capital Management

Dean Capital Management lifted its position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 25.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 556.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Quaker Houghton

In other 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 transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on 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 Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners raised 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, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Quaker Houghton in a 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.67.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Quaker Houghton stock opened at $151.06 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $111.42 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 539.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The company had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

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

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.