WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys New Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired 29,825 shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter, worth approximately $4.7 million and representing about 0.17% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.46% of KWR.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187. Several firms raised their targets, including RBC to $198 and Truist to $190.
• Quaker Houghton reported quarterly EPS of $2.19, exceeding estimates by $0.53, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $532.55 million. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, or $2.12 annually.

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,825 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,738,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned about 0.17% of Quaker Houghton at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,334,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 67,340.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 16,835 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 406,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,793,000 after buying an additional 120,772 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Quaker Houghton during the 4th quarter valued at $21,132,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $103,771,000 after buying an additional 121,854 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KWR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Quaker Houghton has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $187.00.

Quaker Houghton Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KWR stock opened at $155.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $159.84 and its 200-day moving average is $145.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.40. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $112.18 and a 52-week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $504.63 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.Quaker Houghton's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton's payout ratio is 36.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Quaker Houghton news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

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.

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