Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Quaker Houghton has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from four brokerages, with an average price target of $150.75.
• The company reported earnings of $1.71 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.11, while revenue grew 4.3% year-over-year.
• Quaker Houghton announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.508, to be paid on October 31st, with a current yield of 1.4%.

Shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the four brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $150.75.

Several brokerages have recently commented on KWR. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $135.00 price objective on Quaker Houghton and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Quaker Houghton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Wednesday, August 13th.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KWR opened at $144.2120 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $123.50 and its 200 day moving average is $120.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -335.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.38. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $95.91 and a fifty-two week high of $180.96.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.11). Quaker Houghton had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 8.35%. The firm had revenue of $483.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Quaker Houghton's payout ratio is currently -472.09%.

Institutional Trading of Quaker Houghton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KWR. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 400.0% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 390.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 363 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 119.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company's stock.

Quaker Houghton 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.

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