Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $26.26 Million Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 165,289 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,259,000. Quaker Houghton comprises about 1.2% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.96% of Quaker Houghton at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Quaker Houghton news, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of Quaker Houghton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,678.96. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Quaker Houghton Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE KWR opened at $162.95 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $112.18 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $157.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.Quaker Houghton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its board has approved a share 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

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.