Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Shares Up 7% – Time to Buy?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s stock price rose 7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.37 and last traded at $39.02. 98,283 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 145,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Koppers Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $761.24 million, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.84. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.47 and its 200-day moving average is $38.36.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Koppers’s payout ratio is 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KOP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $43,942,000 after acquiring an additional 18,469 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 368,709 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 20.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 5.1% during 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 buying an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Koppers by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 221,207 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,182,000 after buying an additional 3,402 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.