Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.62 and last traded at $31.88, with a volume of 9052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KOP. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $655.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.95%.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other Koppers news, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total value of $131,003.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $189,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 315,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,671,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Koppers during the second quarter valued at $700,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Koppers by 20.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth approximately $4,022,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently 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.