Freestone Grove Partners LP Buys Shares of 5,734 Quaker Houghton $KWR

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $911,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KWR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the second 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in 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, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $166.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.09. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $112.18 and a 52-week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.19%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KWR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quaker Houghton news, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% 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.