Hosking Partners LLP Acquires New Shares in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Quaker Houghton, purchasing 42,899 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million in the first quarter.
• Quaker Houghton increased its quarterly dividend from $0.49 to $0.508 per share, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 4.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, despite missing earnings per share expectations.

Hosking Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $5,303,000. Hosking Partners LLP owned approximately 0.24% of Quaker Houghton at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KWR. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Quaker Houghton by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,671 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 665 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

NYSE:KWR traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 147,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,153. The business's 50-day moving average is $118.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -295.35, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.56. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $95.91 and a 52-week high of $180.96.

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

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -451.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KWR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.75.

Quaker Houghton 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.