Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $198.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.00.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $157.50 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $159.39 and its 200 day moving average is $150.37. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $112.18 and a 12 month high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the sale, the director owned 616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $335,290,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $93,271,000 after purchasing an additional 38,261 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,810,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter worth $37,045,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 199,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $24,766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) is a global provider of industrial process fluids and chemical products used in manufacturing and other heavy industries. The company develops, produces and supplies fluids, lubricants, cleaners, corrosion preventives and specialty chemical solutions designed to support metalworking, forming, treating and finishing processes.

Its products are used by customers in industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, machinery, metal packaging and other general manufacturing markets.