GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stake in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) by 105.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Quaker Chemical by 337.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 224,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,014,000 after buying an additional 172,750 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 2,077.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 138,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,459,000 after acquiring an additional 131,891 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Quaker Chemical by 1,080.0% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 82,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,954,000 after acquiring an additional 75,600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 14.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 359,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,027,000 after purchasing an additional 46,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new position in Quaker Chemical during the second quarter worth about $5,189,000. Institutional investors own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KWR shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Quaker Chemical from $220.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Quaker Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Quaker Chemical from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

KWR stock opened at $162.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.20 and a 200-day moving average of $175.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.37. Quaker Chemical Co. has a 12 month low of $138.67 and a 12 month high of $221.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $463.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.68 million. Quaker Chemical had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 10.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 17th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. This is a boost from Quaker Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.45%.

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.