T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Boosts Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 14.0%, now owning approximately 2.44% of the company worth $53.28 million.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.508, representing an annualized dividend of $2.03 and a yield of 1.4%.
• Quaker Houghton currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target of $150.75.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,962 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.44% of Quaker Houghton worth $53,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KWR. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 400.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 390.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 119.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 573.1% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 875 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

KWR traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $144.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,966. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.61. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -336.53, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.38. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $95.91 and a 1 year high of $180.96.

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

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on KWR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 price target on Quaker Houghton and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.