Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 8th, 2026

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on KWR. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.6%

Quaker Houghton stock opened at $170.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.25 and a 200-day moving average of $146.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Quaker Houghton has a one year low of $112.18 and a one year high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.The business had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $504.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. Quaker Houghton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.19%.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quaker Houghton

In other news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of Quaker Houghton 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 transaction, the director owned 616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,678.96. This represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quaker Houghton in the second quarter valued at $335,290,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,942,000 after buying an additional 95,100 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 755,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $103,771,000 after buying an additional 121,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 750,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $93,271,000 after buying an additional 38,261 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 596,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,785,000 after buying an additional 50,264 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quaker Houghton

(Get Free Report)

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.