Quaker Houghton $KWR Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 4.2%, owning 216,856 shares worth approximately $26.8 million, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Quaker Houghton reported earnings per share of $1.71 for the latest quarter, which missed analyst expectations, although its revenue of $483.4 million surpassed estimates.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.49 to $0.508 per share, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders amidst a complex financial backdrop.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,856 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,751 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.23% of Quaker Houghton worth $26,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KWR. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter worth $494,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,199 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 134,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,977,000 after buying an additional 2,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 31,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 6,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $144.30. 35,430 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 169,875. 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 12 month low of $95.91 and a 12 month high of $180.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $128.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -335.15, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.35% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The company had revenue of $483.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Quaker Houghton's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.508 dividend. This is a boost from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is presently -451.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 price objective on Quaker Houghton and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.