Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Shares Gap Down to $52.91

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $52.91, but opened at $51.60. Koppers shares last traded at $47.39, with a volume of 46,126 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KOP. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Friday. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.50 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $925.86 million, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.05). Koppers had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $513.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Koppers’s payout ratio is currently 6.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Leslie S. Hyde sold 22,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total value of $1,207,745.73. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,522.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Leslie S. Hyde sold 22,403 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total transaction of $1,207,745.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,522.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 3,488 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.61, for a total transaction of $186,991.68. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,981,908.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,591 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,094. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Koppers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Koppers in the third quarter worth about $88,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.