Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.53 and last traded at $30.53, with a volume of 89659 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on KOP. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Singular Research raised shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Koppers Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company has a market capitalization of $615.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.05 and its 200 day moving average is $36.35.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. Koppers’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Koppers’s payout ratio is 7.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Koppers news, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total value of $223,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 314,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,749.50. This trade represents a 1.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,187,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,942,000 after buying an additional 18,469 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Koppers by 91.8% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,134,000 after acquiring an additional 368,709 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Koppers by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 221,207 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,402 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Koppers Company Profile

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.