Legato Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Legato Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,751 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $2,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the third quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 165.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 87.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KWR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Quaker Houghton stock opened at $141.72 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a 1 year low of $103.36 and a 1 year high of $183.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 506.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 0.22% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $463.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.508 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 725.00%.

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.