Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Price Up 7% – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Singular Research raised shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $784.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Koppers’s payout ratio is 7.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $189,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 315,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Koppers by 7.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Koppers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $136,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Koppers by 78.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,018 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,587,000 after purchasing an additional 28,605 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Koppers during the first quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Koppers by 14.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,593 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.