Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $141.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 506.15, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.42. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $103.36 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.63.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the third quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 87.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 162 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.