Jupiter Topco LLC Invests $31.47 Million in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 198,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,472,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Quaker Houghton by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,084 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 7.1% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of KWR opened at $166.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.09. Quaker Houghton has a twelve month low of $112.18 and a twelve month high of $183.01.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.53. Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 4.94%.The firm had revenue of $532.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $504.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Quaker Houghton will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Houghton declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Quaker Houghton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Quaker Houghton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Quaker Houghton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quaker Houghton

In other news, Director William H. Osborne sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.31, for a total transaction of $100,986.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,678.96. The trade was a 49.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on KWR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Quaker Houghton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up from $172.00) on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quaker Houghton currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.00.

Quaker Houghton 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.