Truist Financial Corp Reduces Holdings in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) by 69.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,296 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Quaker Houghton were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Quaker Houghton by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in Quaker Houghton by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,013 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Quaker Houghton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton during the fourth quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 2,256.1% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,290,000 after acquiring an additional 36,888 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quaker Houghton Stock Performance

KWR stock opened at $138.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.49. Quaker Houghton has a 12-month low of $103.36 and a 12-month high of $183.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 493.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Seaport Research Partners raised Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.00.

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.