Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 305,537 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 1,897.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 305,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.85% of Quaker Houghton worth $42,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KWR. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 3.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 633,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $83,514,000 after acquiring an additional 19,788 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 596,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,785,000 after acquiring an additional 50,264 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,331,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 326,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,838 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KWR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.67.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 4.0%

KWR stock opened at $129.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,082.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.47. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $95.91 and a fifty-two week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.65 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $468.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,691.67%.

Quaker Houghton 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.