Meeder Asset Management Inc. Makes New $37,000 Investment in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 3,633.6% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 8,212 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 31.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 44,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after buying an additional 10,677 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 137.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 59,460 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 83.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 36.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total transaction of $223,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,711,749.50. The trade was a 1.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,533 shares of company stock valued at $544,164. 6.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Koppers Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of KOP opened at $37.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $761.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.84. 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 Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.80 and a 12 month high of $58.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.36.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KOP has been the subject of several research reports. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

About Koppers

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.