Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.24 Million Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. $KOP

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 16.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,113 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.70% of Koppers worth $5,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 258.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Koppers by 95.6% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Koppers by 23.5% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Koppers during the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the first quarter worth about $164,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of KOP stock opened at $50.30 on Wednesday. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.00 and a 12 month high of $52.25. The firm has a market cap of $967.37 million, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.88 and a 200-day moving average of $39.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. Koppers had a net margin of 4.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $455.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Koppers’s payout ratio is 9.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KOP. Singular Research raised Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Koppers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Koppers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 3,412 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $149,786.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,151,067.70. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Koppers

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar?based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.