Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Receives $168.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Houghton

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the third quarter worth $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% during the fourth 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $155.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 557.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.43. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $111.42 and a fifty-two week high of $183.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.58. 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 (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.Quaker Houghton’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

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