Royce & Associates LP Increases Position in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 555,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,916 shares during the period. Quaker Chemical comprises 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $78,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KWR. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Quaker Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 50.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical by 100.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Quaker Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Quaker Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:KWR opened at $128.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.18 and its 200 day moving average is $151.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.43. Quaker Chemical Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.66 and a fifty-two week high of $207.83.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.29). Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 6.58%. The firm had revenue of $444.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is 29.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Quaker Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Quaker Chemical from $172.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Quaker Chemical in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

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.