Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $252,000 Stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 75.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 23,717 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Koppers were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 83.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 345.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KOP traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.07. 245,257 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,768. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.33 and a fifty-two week high of $58.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $589.12 million, a PE ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.64.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Koppers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.09%.

Koppers announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Koppers 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.