Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 417,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,189 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 2.36% of Quaker Houghton worth $51,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KWR. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Quaker Houghton by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,109 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 9,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at about $422,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 0.8%

KWR traded up $0.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.26. 101,244 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,109. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.89 and a 200 day moving average of $123.46. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $95.91 and a 12-month high of $193.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $442.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.23 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 5.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 17th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 17th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KWR. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.25.

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.