Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,594 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 556.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quaker Houghton news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of Quaker Houghton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total value of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,678.96. This trade represents a 49.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KWR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Quaker Houghton from $177.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $170.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.46. Quaker Houghton has a 52 week low of $112.18 and a 52 week high of $183.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The company had revenue of $532.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This is a boost from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.19%.

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.