Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $46.03, but opened at $43.71. Koppers shares last traded at $44.01, with a volume of 982 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KOP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Koppers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Koppers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.00.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $835.73 million, a P/E ratio of -9.37 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.91.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $520.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $506.10 million. Koppers had a negative net margin of 4.59% and a positive return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.200 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Koppers’s payout ratio is -7.63%.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In related news, CAO Bradley A. Pearce sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.01, for a total transaction of $102,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 41,037 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,297.37. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James A. Sullivan sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 82,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,900. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,808 shares of company stock valued at $4,857,451. 7.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Koppers by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,124,000 after purchasing an additional 52,289 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 103.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 11,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 5,744 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the second quarter valued at $31,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Koppers during the second quarter valued at about $445,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Koppers by 30.9% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 2,618 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Koppers Company Profile

Koppers Holdings Inc is a global provider of treated wood products, carbon compounds and specialty chemicals used in infrastructure, transportation and industrial applications. The company’s products include railroad and utility poles, treated lumber, wood preservatives, carbon pitch and other chemicals used in aluminum production, construction, steelmaking and related industries.

Koppers serves railroads, utilities, aluminum producers, infrastructure contractors and industrial manufacturers.