Short Interest in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) Declines By 6.8%

Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the March 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Approximately 7.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 81,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Quaker Chemical from $200.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quaker Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

KWR traded down $1.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.82. 52,421 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 82,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.52. Quaker Chemical has a 12-month low of $138.67 and a 12-month high of $221.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.77. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.49.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.11. Quaker Chemical had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The business had revenue of $467.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $470.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quaker Chemical will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 15th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Quaker Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Quaker Chemical announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Chemical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Chemical in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Quaker Chemical by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 165 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Quaker Chemical by 65.0% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Quaker Chemical in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Quaker Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Quaker Chemical Company 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.