Wall Street Zen Upgrades Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) to Buy

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

KWR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.67.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 0.3%

KWR stock opened at $174.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -355.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.35. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $95.91 and a fifty-two week high of $183.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.53 and a 200-day moving average of $142.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,942,000 after purchasing an additional 95,100 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 712,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $97,839,000 after buying an additional 36,790 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Quaker Houghton by 9.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 596,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,785,000 after buying an additional 50,264 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 469,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,533,000 after buying an additional 118,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

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.