Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 137.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 59,460 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $3,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. KBC Group NV grew its position 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Koppers by 36.6% during 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 buying an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 97,586 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 47.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 170.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $189,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 315,129 shares in the company, valued at $11,949,691.68. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $38.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.41. The firm has a market cap of $784.45 million, a PE ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.84. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.80 and a 1 year high of $58.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 7.95%.

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.