Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Trading 5.8% Higher

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) traded up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $45.69 and last traded at $45.60. 37,020 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 128,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Friday.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $933.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of Koppers 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 approximately $6,005,479.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 3,488 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.61, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of Koppers 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 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 have sold 31,591 shares of company stock worth $1,700,094. Corporate insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KOP. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth about $466,000. Advisor Partners II LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth about $459,000. Skylands Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth about $1,022,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 617.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 63,727 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 54,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 53.9% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 26,001 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 9,103 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.