Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Takes $5.11 Million Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 99,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,106,000. Koppers makes up about 2.5% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. owned 0.48% of Koppers as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter worth about $1,123,000. Skylands Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Koppers by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 45,399 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,325,000 after buying an additional 19,549 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Koppers by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,098 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 6,167 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Koppers by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,782 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KOP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Friday. Singular Research raised Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th.

Koppers Trading Down 1.8 %

KOP traded down $0.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 185,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,212. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $907.65 million, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.86. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.45 and a twelve month high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $497.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 3.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Koppers’s payout ratio is 7.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total transaction of $37,807.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,005,479.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Koppers news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 3,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.61, for a total value of $186,991.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,981,908.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total transaction of $37,807.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,005,479.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,591 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,094. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

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.