Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Price Up 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) shares rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.13 and last traded at $31.16. Approximately 76,207 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 138,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $610.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a positive change from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Koppers by 91.8% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,134,000 after purchasing an additional 368,709 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Koppers during the third quarter worth $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth $2,948,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Koppers by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 130,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,238,000 after purchasing an additional 86,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Company 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.