Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $143.76 and last traded at $144.13, with a volume of 185770 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $148.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.38 and its 200 day moving average is $166.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

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 $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 105.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Quaker Chemical by 36.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Quaker Chemical by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Quaker Chemical in the 2nd quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. 77.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.