Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Price Up 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s stock price shot up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.13 and last traded at $31.16. 76,207 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 138,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KOP. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Trading Up 2.0 %

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 firm has a market cap of $610.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.81.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Koppers by 91.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 368,709 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Koppers by 20.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Koppers in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,948,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Koppers by 193.5% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 130,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 86,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.