Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.15 and traded as low as $153.09. Quaker Houghton shares last traded at $154.49, with a volume of 105,167 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Quaker Houghton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Quaker Houghton from $202.00 to $192.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Deutsche Bank increased their price target on Quaker Houghton from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quaker Houghton from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Quaker Houghton in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Quaker Houghton Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.28.

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $544.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.88 million. Quaker Houghton had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 9.84%. Quaker Houghton’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Quaker Houghton will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Houghton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 17.7% in the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 461,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,849,000 after acquiring an additional 69,520 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 87.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Quaker Houghton by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,752 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,412,000 after purchasing an additional 36,618 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 867,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $136,902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,295 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Quaker Houghton by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 162,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,696,000 after purchasing an additional 31,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Houghton Company Profile

Quaker Houghton is a global provider of industrial process fluids and specialty chemicals. Its products include metalworking fluids, industrial lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cleaners, corrosion-prevention products, and coatings used in manufacturing and other industrial operations. The company serves customers across industries such as steel and aluminum production, automotive, aerospace, mining, and general machinery. Its solutions are designed to support processes including metal forming, machining, heat treatment, and equipment operation.