Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Koppers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Koppers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Koppers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $40.63 on Friday. Koppers has a 52-week low of $25.00 and a 52-week high of $46.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.72 and a 200-day moving average of $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. Koppers had a net margin of 4.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $455.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Koppers will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 2,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $113,140.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,896,284.80. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Koppers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,209,376 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,191,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,082,000 after acquiring an additional 17,833 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 954,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,724,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares in the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the 4th quarter worth about $22,032,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,393,000 after acquiring an additional 22,114 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Koppers

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.