Heartland Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 124,078 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,695 shares during the period. Quaker Houghton comprises 0.9% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $17,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 7.1% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.00.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KWR opened at $137.04 on Thursday. Quaker Houghton has a fifty-two week low of $111.32 and a fifty-two week high of $183.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 489.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $463.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. Quaker Houghton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.508 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton Company 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.