Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of 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 report on Sunday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock opened at $141.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 506.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.63. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $103.36 and a 12-month high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the third quarter worth approximately $5,035,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,376,000 after buying an additional 305,537 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 10.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 87,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,565,000 after buying an additional 8,271 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,251,000 after buying an additional 24,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 633,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $83,514,000 after buying an additional 19,788 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.