StockNews.com Upgrades Koppers (NYSE:KOP) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on KOP. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Koppers Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KOP opened at $37.76 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.84 million, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.84. Koppers has a 12-month low of $33.80 and a 12-month high of $58.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The company had revenue of $554.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Koppers will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. 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 at Koppers

In other news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $208,063.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,300 shares in the company, valued at $388,516. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Koppers by 7.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Koppers by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,224 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the first quarter worth approximately $136,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Koppers by 2.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the first quarter valued at approximately $671,000. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.