Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 717 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 717 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Koppers by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after purchasing an additional 8,111 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,444,000 after acquiring an additional 138,603 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 632,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Koppers by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 248,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,425 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Koppers Trading Up 3.4 %

Koppers stock opened at $27.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.99 and a fifty-two week high of $45.21. The stock has a market cap of $554.35 million, a P/E ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.90.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.15. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $456.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $488.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Koppers’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 13.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on KOP shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

Koppers Profile

Koppers Holdings Inc provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) segments.