Legato Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,751 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Quaker Houghton worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KWR. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 114.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 12,341 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 7.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 4.4% during 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 period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 29.2% during 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 period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 44.4% during 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 period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KWR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seaport Research Partners raised Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $141.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $131.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 506.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Quaker Houghton has a 52 week low of $103.36 and a 52 week high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $480.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Dividend Announcement

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

Quaker Houghton Profile

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.