Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.67.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 3.2%

NYSE:KWR opened at $155.29 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a twelve month low of $95.91 and a twelve month high of $162.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $142.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -316.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.33.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.14. Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The firm had revenue of $493.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $475.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is currently -414.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,331,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,376,000 after purchasing an additional 305,537 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 79.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 661,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $87,204,000 after purchasing an additional 293,977 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,353,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 3,639.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 79,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $10,500,000 after buying an additional 77,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.