Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Position in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KWR. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 856 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Quaker Chemical by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 4.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $189.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $195.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.48. Quaker Chemical Co. has a 1-year low of $138.67 and a 1-year high of $221.94.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $469.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $494.53 million. Quaker Chemical had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 10.35%. Quaker Chemical’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 17th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Quaker Chemical announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Quaker Chemical from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

About Quaker Chemical

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.