Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

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

Quaker Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of KWR stock opened at $182.37 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.87. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.40.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $469.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $494.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quaker Chemical will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Quaker Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 17th. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 856 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 36.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 9,057 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Quaker Chemical Company Profile

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.