AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 3,929 Shares of Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Quaker Chemical Co. (NYSE:KWR) by 152.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,929 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Quaker Chemical were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,607,511 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $329,942,000 after buying an additional 8,484 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Quaker Chemical by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 359,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,027,000 after acquiring an additional 46,240 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 337.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 224,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,014,000 after acquiring an additional 172,750 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Quaker Chemical by 3.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Quaker Chemical by 2,077.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 138,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,459,000 after purchasing an additional 131,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.46% of the company’s stock.

Quaker Chemical Price Performance

Shares of KWR opened at $161.58 on Friday. Quaker Chemical Co. has a 12-month low of $138.67 and a 12-month high of $221.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.90 and its 200 day moving average is $176.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Quaker Chemical (NYSE:KWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.08). Quaker Chemical had a return on equity of 10.49% and a net margin of 6.56%. The company had revenue of $463.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a positive change from Quaker Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Quaker Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on KWR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Quaker Chemical from $220.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quaker Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Quaker Chemical from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

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.