Quaker Houghton (KWR) and The Competition Head to Head Analysis

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) is one of 296 publicly-traded companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Quaker Houghton to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.5% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Quaker Houghton and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quaker Houghton	$1.89 billion	-$2.49 million	27.80
Quaker Houghton Competitors	$6.37 billion	$229.42 million	19.87

Quaker Houghton’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Quaker Houghton. Quaker Houghton is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Quaker Houghton has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quaker Houghton’s competitors have a beta of 1.09, meaning that their average share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Quaker Houghton pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Quaker Houghton pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 104.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Quaker Houghton has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Quaker Houghton and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quaker Houghton	0	2	4	0	2.67
Quaker Houghton Competitors	3273	12243	14159	521	2.40

Quaker Houghton currently has a consensus target price of $186.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.68%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 7.47%. Given Quaker Houghton’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Quaker Houghton is more favorable than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Quaker Houghton and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quaker Houghton	4.80%	9.84%	4.81%
Quaker Houghton Competitors	-54.13%	-0.60%	-1.36%

Summary

Quaker Houghton beats its competitors on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. Its products include metalworking fluids, industrial lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cleaners, corrosion-prevention products, and coatings used in manufacturing and other industrial operations. The company serves customers across industries such as steel and aluminum production, automotive, aerospace, mining, and general machinery. Its solutions are designed to support processes including metal forming, machining, heat treatment, and equipment operation.