Quaker Houghton $KWR Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of Quaker Houghton worth $4,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 16,835 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,793,000 after acquiring an additional 120,772 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after acquiring an additional 121,854 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth $21,132,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 33.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 118,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quaker Houghton

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’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 value of $106,557.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of Quaker Houghton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of KWR stock opened at $171.63 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $112.18 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.54.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KWR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

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.