Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Stock Has Average Price Target of $187.00

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly bullish on Quaker Houghton: Six firms give the stock an average “Buy” rating, with a consensus 12-month price target of $187, above its reported $163.58 opening price.
• Recent operating results exceeded expectations: Quarterly EPS came in at $2.19 versus the $1.66 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $532.55 million.
• Investor support and shareholder returns remain notable: Institutional investors own 77.46% of the stock, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $187.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on KWR. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Activity at Quaker Houghton

In other news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KWR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the second quarter valued at approximately $335,290,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,810,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,045,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,472,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of KWR stock opened at $163.58 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $160.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.67. 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 has a 1 year low of $112.18 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.5080. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is 36.19%.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Houghton NYSE: KWR is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. The company develops, manufactures and services products used in metalworking and other industrial applications, including coolants, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, corrosion preventatives, cleaners and specialty fluids.

Its products and technical services support manufacturing processes such as machining, forming, rolling, casting and heat treatment. Quaker Houghton serves customers across industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, construction, energy and general manufacturing.

The company traces its history to Quaker Chemical, which was founded in 1918.

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