Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Shares Down 4.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) shares traded down 4.1% on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $203.00 to $175.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Quaker Houghton traded as low as $114.45 and last traded at $115.5930. 28,710 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 160,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.57.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Quaker Houghton during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 4.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -966.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.06). Quaker Houghton had a negative net margin of 0.13% and a positive return on equity of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $468.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Quaker Houghton’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is presently -1,691.67%.

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.