Foundry Partners LLC Acquires 67,470 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 61.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,470 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC owned 0.88% of Koppers worth $5,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Koppers by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,521,000 after acquiring an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Koppers by 277.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Koppers by 314.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 44,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 33,817 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,000. Finally, Villanova Investment Management Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 28,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 5,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KOP. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd.

Koppers Stock Down 3.8 %

KOP opened at $25.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.07. 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 twelve month low of $23.81 and a twelve month high of $56.96. The stock has a market cap of $512.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.74.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million for 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid 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 yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.