Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $150.79 and last traded at $150.79, with a volume of 19936 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $152.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KWR shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Quaker Chemical from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Quaker Chemical from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Quaker Chemical from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.70.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $462.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.17 million. Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 6.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Chemical

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 645 shares of Quaker Chemical stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.98, for a total value of $107,057.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,747 shares in the company, valued at $787,907.06. This trade represents a 11.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP David Slinkman sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.80, for a total transaction of $285,260.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,035. The trade was a 37.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Quaker Chemical by 36.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 1.4% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 6.6% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 1.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,001 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.