Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $758,000 in Quaker Houghton $KWR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quaker Houghton in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Quaker Houghton by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 284.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Quaker Houghton by 556.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 335 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Quaker Houghton by 123.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KWR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $151.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Quaker Houghton from $203.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Quaker Houghton from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Quaker Houghton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.00.

Quaker Houghton Price Performance

KWR stock traded down $4.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.27. 7,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,133. Quaker Houghton has a 52-week low of $111.42 and a 52-week high of $183.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.45. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 558.22, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.67.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.03). Quaker Houghton had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 0.22%.The firm had revenue of $480.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $463.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Quaker Houghton will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Houghton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.508 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Quaker Houghton’s payout ratio is presently 725.00%.

Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.77, for a total value of $106,557.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $983,655.96. This trade represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.