Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Trading Up 3.8% – What’s Next?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) shares shot up 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.13 and last traded at $31.16. 76,207 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 138,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KOP shares. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $630.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.91.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.17%.

Koppers declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Koppers by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 59,460 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 31.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Koppers by 3,633.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 8,212 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.