Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $136.72 and last traded at $137.04, with a volume of 56930 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Quaker Chemical from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Quaker Chemical from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Quaker Chemical from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Quaker Chemical Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.87 and its 200-day moving average is $163.54.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $462.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.17 million. Quaker Chemical had a net margin of 6.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quaker Chemical Co. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quaker Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Quaker Chemical’s payout ratio is 28.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Slinkman sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.80, for a total transaction of $285,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,035. This trade represents a 37.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeewat Bijlani sold 645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.98, for a total transaction of $107,057.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,747 shares in the company, valued at $787,907.06. This trade represents a 11.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quaker Chemical

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KWR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 3.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 138,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,568,000 after purchasing an additional 4,733 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 95.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,227,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Roubaix Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quaker Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,750,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. 77.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.