Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $120.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,004.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $95.91 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.65 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $465.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

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.