Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Price Up 7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) traded up 7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.37 and last traded at $39.02. 98,283 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 145,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Stock Up 6.2 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $784.65 million, a PE ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $571.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total value of $189,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 315,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KOP. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Koppers by 3.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 76,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Koppers by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,972 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Koppers by 8.5% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 6,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.