Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires 5,715 Shares of Quaker Houghton $KWR

Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 5,715 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.75% of Quaker Houghton worth $16,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Houghton

In other Quaker Houghton news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total transaction of $106,557.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $150.41 on Friday. Quaker Houghton has a 12 month low of $111.42 and a 12 month high of $183.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 537.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.08.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The business had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is 725.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $177.00 target price on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.67.

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.