Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 7,184 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Quaker Houghton stake by 168.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 7,184 shares and bringing its holdings to 11,437 shares valued at approximately $1.82 million.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $187; recent firms upgraded ratings or raised targets following strong quarterly results.
• Quaker Houghton exceeded earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.19 in quarterly EPS and $532.55 million in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend from $0.51 to $0.53 per share.

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 168.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 7,184 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Quaker Houghton worth $1,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter valued at $148,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 2nd quarter worth $215,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton in the second quarter worth $217,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at about $707,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the second quarter valued at about $251,000. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quaker Houghton news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on KWR shares. Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $187.00.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock opened at $154.52 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $159.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.78. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $112.18 and a 12-month high of $183.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.19%.

Quaker Houghton Profile

Quaker Houghton NYSE: KWR is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. The company develops, manufactures and services products used in metalworking and other industrial applications, including coolants, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, corrosion preventatives, cleaners and specialty fluids.

Its products and technical services support manufacturing processes such as machining, forming, rolling, casting and heat treatment. Quaker Houghton serves customers across industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, construction, energy and general manufacturing.

The company traces its history to Quaker Chemical, which was founded in 1918.

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