T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake 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. raised its stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 431,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,962 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.44% of Quaker Houghton worth $53,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 3.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 75,954 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 390.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 25.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.8% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 8.1% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of KWR traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.21. 84,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,550. 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 company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.44.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $483.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. 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 currently -451.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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