Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of KOP opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $575.96 million, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.74. Koppers has a 12 month low of $27.00 and a 12 month high of $56.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Koppers will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 13.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased 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 worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Koppers by 83.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Koppers by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 44,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 10,677 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Koppers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $337,000. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.