BidaskClub Lowers Quaker Chemical Corporation (KWR) to Sell

BidaskClub cut shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE:KWR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 3rd.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $162.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, FBR & Co reaffirmed a marketperform rating on shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation in a report on Tuesday, July 11th.

Quaker Chemical Corporation (KWR) opened at 135.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.55 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.90. Quaker Chemical Corporation has a 52-week low of $96.35 and a 52-week high of $154.38.

Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.24. Quaker Chemical Corporation had a net margin of 6.73% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $201.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Quaker Chemical Corporation will post $4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Quaker Chemical Corporation news, Director Donald R. Caldwell sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.60, for a total value of $138,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,506. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP D Jeffry Benoliel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.69, for a total transaction of $413,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 26,114 shares in the company, valued at $3,595,636.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,800 shares of company stock worth $802,860 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KWR. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 258,959 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,131,000 after buying an additional 18,113 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH purchased a new position in shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation during the second quarter worth $220,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation by 82,132.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,568,991 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $206,573,000 after buying an additional 1,567,083 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation by 54.2% in the first quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical Corporation by 42.3% in the first quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.57% of the company’s stock.

About Quaker Chemical Corporation

Quaker Chemical Corporation is a provider of process fluids, chemical specialties, and technical expertise to a range of industries, including steel, aluminum, mining, aerospace, tube and pipe, cans and others. The Company’s segments include North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia/Pacific and South America.