Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $25.58 and last traded at $25.93, with a volume of 76935 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on KOP shares. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Trading Down 6.8 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.20. The stock has a market cap of $532.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. As a group, analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $15,521,000 after buying an additional 20,586 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in Koppers by 62.4% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 11,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in Koppers by 277.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Koppers by 314.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 44,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 33,817 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Koppers in the third quarter valued at $161,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently 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.