Dean Capital Management Sells 17,246 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management cut its Quaker Houghton stake by 55% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,246 shares and leaving it with 14,103 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Quaker Houghton reported Q1 EPS of $1.63, slightly below estimates, while revenue came in at $480.48 million, ahead of consensus and up 8.5% from a year ago.
• The company’s board approved a $250 million share repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 10.1% of outstanding shares, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.508 per share.

Dean Capital Management lowered its stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 17,246 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned 0.08% of Quaker Houghton worth $1,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the third quarter worth about $5,035,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,376,000 after buying an additional 305,537 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 278,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,251,000 after buying an additional 24,573 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 633,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $83,514,000 after buying an additional 19,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR opened at $150.10 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.13 and a 200-day moving average of $143.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 536.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.43. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $111.32 and a 1 year high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton's payout ratio is 725.00%.

Insider Activity at Quaker Houghton

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KWR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $172.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.00.

About Quaker Houghton

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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