UBS Group AG Cuts Stock Holdings in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Quaker Houghton stake by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,071 shares and leaving it with 58,701 shares valued at about $8.06 million.
• Quaker Houghton reported quarterly earnings of $1.63 per share, missing expectations by a small margin, while revenue of $480.48 million beat analyst forecasts and rose 8.5% year over year.
• The company announced a $250 million share repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.508 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average target price of $166.

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,701 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 16,071 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.34% of Quaker Houghton worth $8,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KWR. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the third quarter worth about $46,331,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1,897.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 321,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,376,000 after purchasing an additional 305,537 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 79.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 661,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $87,204,000 after purchasing an additional 293,977 shares in the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter worth about $9,353,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 3,639.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 79,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,500,000 after purchasing an additional 77,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Quaker Houghton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seaport Research Partners raised Quaker Houghton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of KWR opened at $136.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 486.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $103.36 and a 1 year high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.508 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of process fluids, chemical specialties and sustainable solutions for industrial applications. The company develops and supplies metalworking fluids, coatings, and corrosion inhibitors, as well as heat transfer, lubrication and additive products designed to improve productivity and extend equipment life. Its portfolio addresses a range of end markets including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, mining, agriculture and heavy industry.

The company traces its roots back to the founding of Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1918 and Houghton International in 1865.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.