Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

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

Quaker Chemical Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of KWR opened at $171.66 on Friday. Quaker Chemical has a 52 week low of $138.67 and a 52 week high of $221.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.46. 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 (NYSE:KWR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Quaker Chemical will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. This is an increase from Quaker Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in 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 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

About Quaker Chemical

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.