Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,409 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $6,814,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Quaker Chemical at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Quaker Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $28,978,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 759,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $106,870,000 after acquiring an additional 122,494 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 555,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $78,153,000 after acquiring an additional 120,916 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Quaker Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $13,399,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 394,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,680,000 after purchasing an additional 82,843 shares during the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quaker Chemical Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KWR traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.33. The stock had a trading volume of 42,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,985. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Quaker Chemical Co. has a twelve month low of $119.17 and a twelve month high of $203.21.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Quaker Chemical's payout ratio is 29.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KWR has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Quaker Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Quaker Chemical from $172.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Quaker Chemical from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Quaker Chemical 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.