Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Stock Dropped to Hold by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $198.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.00.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $157.50 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.37. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $112.18 and a 52-week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at approximately $335,290,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $93,271,000 after acquiring an additional 38,261 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,810,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,045,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 199,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $24,766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) is a global provider of industrial process fluids and chemical products used in manufacturing and other heavy industries. The company develops, produces and supplies fluids, lubricants, cleaners, corrosion preventives and specialty chemical solutions designed to support metalworking, forming, treating and finishing processes.

Its products are used by customers in industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, machinery, metal packaging and other general manufacturing markets.