Stock Buyback Plan Approved by Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $142.74. The company had a trading volume of 146,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,148. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 509.79, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $103.36 and a 12-month high of $183.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. Quaker Houghton’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KWR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

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.