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

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $28.65 and last traded at $28.97, with a volume of 7909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Koppers Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.53. The company has a market cap of $598.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.83.

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

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.95%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In other Koppers news, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total value of $223,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,711,749.50. This represents a 1.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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 institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Koppers by 91.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Koppers by 586.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,276,000 after acquiring an additional 168,063 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Koppers by 137.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 59,460 shares during the period. 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.