American Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Quaker Houghton $KWR

American Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 27,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,334,000. American Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Quaker Houghton as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at $911,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at $31,472,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter worth about $707,000. Palisade Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the second quarter worth approximately $8,537,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,904,000. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KWR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $187.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $164.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.00. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $112.18 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.72 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Quaker Houghton declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton 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.

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