Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Quaker Chemical in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. They issued an overweight rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock.

Quaker Chemical Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:KWR opened at $171.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.66. Quaker Chemical has a one year low of $138.67 and a one year high of $221.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 6.16%. The business had revenue of $469.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $494.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quaker Chemical will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. This is a boost from Quaker Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KWR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quaker Chemical by 337.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 224,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,014,000 after purchasing an additional 172,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Quaker Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $29,226,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical by 2,196.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 123,222 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,298,000 after purchasing an additional 117,857 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical by 1,080.0% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 82,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,954,000 after purchasing an additional 75,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 328,739 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,160,000 after purchasing an additional 67,195 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Quaker Chemical

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals.