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

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s stock price shot up 3.8% during 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

KOP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Koppers Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $630.05 million, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.74.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Koppers by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,444,000 after acquiring an additional 138,603 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Koppers by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 632,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Koppers by 20.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Koppers by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,521,000 after purchasing an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.