Strong cash conversion — free cash flow at roughly 10 times net income and a perfect Piotroski F-Score of 9/9 — and healthy price momentum mask extreme risk conditions: a put-to-call ratio of 8.00, 16% short interest, and a stock price $42 above the options market's max pain level of $105; with only 0.3% upside to the analyst consensus target and a recent pattern of earnings underdelivery, the risk profile has breached the minimum acceptable threshold and warrants an exit.
Thesis pillars
- Extreme Risk Options Short Positioning↑Improving
- Target Reached No Upside Headroom→Stable
- Earnings Delivery Deteriorating↑Improving
- +1 more pillar — see the Why tab for full reasoning
Pillars as of Jul 3, 2026, based on the 10-K filed Feb 23, 2026· older than 90 days
Quaker Houghton (KWR) Stock Analysis
Range Bound setup · Sector Rotation edge
Basic Materials · Specialty Chemicals
Sell if holding. At $157.30, A.R:R 0.8:1 is below the 1.5:1 minimum. Reward from here is too thin for a buy — the engine flags exit. Additional concerns: Thin upside margin: 6.2%; Concentration risk — Geographic: non-U.S. subsidiaries.
Quaker Houghton formulates specialty industrial process fluids — metal removal, rolling lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and surface solutions — sold to steel, aluminum, automotive, and aerospace manufacturers in over 25 countries across three segments. Non-US subsidiaries... Read more
Sell if holding. At $157.30, A.R:R 0.8:1 is below the 1.5:1 minimum. Reward from here is too thin for a buy — the engine flags exit. Additional concerns: Thin upside margin: 6.2%; Concentration risk — Geographic: non-U.S. subsidiaries. Chart setup: RSI 49 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Score 5.9/10, moderate confidence.
Passes 5/8 gates (clean insider activity, news events none recent, earnings proximity 112d clear, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum and favorable risk/reward ratio. Suitability: aggressive.
Recent developments
updated Oct 28, 2026Recent Developments — Quaker Houghton
Latest news
- NEWS KWR Q3'26 Earnings: EPS estimate is 2.10 USD - TradingView — TradingView Oct 28, 2026 neutral
- NEWS Why Quaker Chemical (KWR) Is Getting Attention Today - Simply Wall Street — Simply Wall Street Oct 21, 2026 neutral
- NEWS Quaker Houghton stock yields 1.35 percent before October 30 payment - ad-hoc-news.de — ad-hoc-news.de Oct 20, 2026 neutral
- NEWS Quaker Houghton stock yields 1.35 percent before October 30 payment - AD HOC NEWS — AD HOC NEWS Oct 20, 2026 neutral
- NEWS Why Quaker Houghton (KWR) Holds Re-Rating Potential? - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo Finance Oct 14, 2026 positive
Latest item Oct 28, 2026 · Generated 2026-11-05T11:39:30Z.
Upcoming dated catalysts
Thesis
Key Metrics
Quality Signals
Options Flow
Concentration Risks(10-K Item 1A)
- HIGHGeographicnon-U.S. subsidiaries10-K Item 1A: 'sales by our non-U.S. subsidiaries accounted for approximately 63% to 67% of our consolidated net sales'
- LOWProductmetal removal fluids19%10-K Item 1: 'Metal removal fluids ... 19.0'
- LOWProductrolling lubricants18%10-K Item 1: 'Rolling lubricants ... 18.3'
- LOWProducthydraulic fluids12%10-K Item 1: 'Hydraulic fluids ... 12.2'
- LOWProductsurface solutions11%10-K Item 1: 'Surface solutions ... 10.9'
Material Events(8-K, last 90d)
- 2026-03-12Item 5.02MEDIUMSVP/Chief Global Operations Officer Jeffrey Fleck departed March 9, 2026 via involuntary termination without cause. No successor named. No disagreement with the Company cited.SEC filing →
- 2026-05-15Item 5.02LOWBoard Chairman Michael F. Barry retired May 13, 2026 after serving since 2008. Mark A. Douglas appointed new Chairman. Board reduced from 11 to 10 directors. Lead Director role eliminated. No disagreement cited.SEC filing →
Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. How we score · Editorial policy
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Rating Breakdown
1 floor-breaker
Momentum below the gate floor. Component breakdown shows what dragged the score down.static
Price Targets
Position Sizing
Risk Alerts
Earnings
Verdict History
Frequently Asked Questions
Sell if holding. At $157.30, A.R:R 0.8:1 is below the 1.5:1 minimum. Reward from here is too thin for a buy — the engine flags exit. Additional concerns: Thin upside margin: 6.2%; Concentration risk — Geographic: non-U.S. subsidiaries. Chart setup: RSI 49 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band. Prior stop was $146.98. Score 5.9/10, moderate confidence.
Analyst target: $167.04 (+6.2% upside). Prior stop was $146.98. Stop-loss: $146.98.
Concentration risk — Geographic: non-U.S. subsidiaries; Thin upside margin: 6.2%; V7 low-quality RISK_OFF penalty: -0.5 (Q=5.1).
Quaker Houghton trades at a P/E of 28.2 (forward 16.6). TrendMatrix value score: 7.2/10. Verdict: Sell.
12 analysts rate KWR, with a consensus score of 4.2/5. 7 analysts publish price targets averaging $192.
What does Quaker Houghton do?Quaker Houghton formulates specialty industrial process fluids — metal removal, rolling lubricants, hydraulic fluids,...
Quaker Houghton formulates specialty industrial process fluids — metal removal, rolling lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and surface solutions — sold to steel, aluminum, automotive, and aerospace manufacturers in over 25 countries across three segments. Non-US subsidiaries generated 63% to 67% of consolidated net sales over the past three years, employing approximately 4,700 people globally.