Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 9.7%, acquiring 16,258 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 184,220 shares valued at about $22.8 million.
• Quaker Houghton announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.508, representing a 1.5% yield, to be paid on October 31st.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Quaker Houghton, with price targets ranging from $135.00 to $150.75 following positive revenue growth reports.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,258 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of Quaker Houghton worth $22,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 3.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 75,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 390.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 25.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.8% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 8.1% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KWR. 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 note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.75.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Quaker Houghton stock traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.97. 128,880 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 163,265. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.61. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $95.91 and a 12 month high of $180.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Quaker Houghton's payout ratio is currently -451.16%.

About Quaker Houghton

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.