Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on KWR. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.50.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 0.1%

KWR opened at $127.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.36. Quaker Houghton has a 1-year low of $98.25 and a 1-year high of $183.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,060.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.43.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $468.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.17 million. Quaker Houghton had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 0.13%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is -1,691.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KWR. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 12,341 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 29.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 95,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,836,000 after acquiring an additional 21,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 44.4% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.