Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Quaker Houghton shares rose above their 200-day moving average of $149.96, reaching as high as $161.13 and last trading near $160.63.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00; several firms recently raised their targets.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $149.96 and traded as high as $161.13. Quaker Houghton shares last traded at $160.6270, with a volume of 96,660 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KWR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 2.3%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.5080. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Osborne sold 600 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,212 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter worth $241,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter worth $776,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton during the second quarter worth $4,738,000. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Houghton NYSE: KWR is a global provider of industrial process fluids and services. The company develops, manufactures and supplies chemical formulations used to improve performance, efficiency, safety and product quality in manufacturing and metalworking operations.

Its product portfolio includes metal-removal and metal-forming fluids, hydraulic and specialty fluids, industrial cleaners, coatings, corrosion preventives and fire-resistant fluids. Quaker Houghton also provides fluid-management programs, technical support, equipment and related services designed to help customers manage industrial processes and maintenance requirements.

The company serves customers in industries including steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, mining, machinery and other general manufacturing markets.

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