JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.33% of Koppers worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Koppers by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,134,000 after acquiring an additional 368,709 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 586.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,276,000 after purchasing an additional 168,063 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the third quarter valued at $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 59,460 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KOP. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Stock Performance

KOP traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $32.35. The stock had a trading volume of 98,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,207. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.98. The company has a market cap of $655.69 million, a P/E ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 1.86. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.25 and a 12-month high of $58.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. Koppers's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Koppers's payout ratio is presently 7.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $223,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,749.50. The trade was a 1.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total value of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,087.96. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company's stock.

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.