American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 5,118 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 35.1%, acquiring an additional 5,118 shares during the first quarter, bringing its ownership to approximately 19,712 shares valued at $2,437,000.
• Quaker Houghton announced a quarterly dividend of $0.508 per share, an increase from its previous $0.49 dividend, indicating a 1.4% dividend yield.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a reported EPS of $1.71, which was below the consensus estimate of $1.82, despite a 4.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 35.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Quaker Houghton worth $2,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 400.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 390.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Quaker Houghton by 119.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 573.1% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 875 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 200.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 target price on shares of Quaker Houghton and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.75.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR stock traded up $4.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $139.24. 48,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,196. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $95.91 and a 12-month high of $180.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $128.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of -323.81, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.11). Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.35% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The firm had revenue of $483.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -472.09%.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.