Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $179.50.

KWR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,942,000 after purchasing an additional 95,100 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after purchasing an additional 121,854 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 712,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $97,839,000 after purchasing an additional 36,790 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $66,785,000 after purchasing an additional 50,264 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $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.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 2.4%

KWR stock opened at $127.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.87 and a 200 day moving average of $140.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -1,060.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quaker Houghton has a 52 week low of $98.25 and a 52 week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $468.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.17 million. Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 0.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

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

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.