Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $7.27 Million Position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 21.5%, acquiring an additional 10,405 shares to bring its total to 58,814 shares, valued at approximately $7.27 million.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on Quaker Houghton, with Jefferies upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $146.00, while Piper Sandler lowered their target to $140.00.
• Quaker Houghton recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.485 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.59%, set to be paid on July 31st.

Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 10,405 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Quaker Houghton worth $7,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $28,978,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 759,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $106,870,000 after buying an additional 122,494 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $13,399,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 92.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 187,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,423,000 after buying an additional 90,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $11,951,000. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quaker Houghton Trading Down 0.9%

KWR traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.45. The stock had a trading volume of 32,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,204. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $116.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.37. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $95.91 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $442.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $455.23 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm's revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 17th will be given a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 17th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.25.

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.