Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $29.18 and last traded at $29.18, with a volume of 584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Koppers Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $624.89 million, a P/E ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s payout ratio is 7.95%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total transaction of $223,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,711,749.50. This represents a 1.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164. 6.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Koppers by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,187,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,942,000 after purchasing an additional 18,469 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Koppers by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,134,000 after purchasing an additional 368,709 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Koppers by 586.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,276,000 after purchasing an additional 168,063 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.