Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 22,788 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,343,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 22,788 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.56% of Koppers worth $75,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Koppers by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position 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 in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Koppers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KOP shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of KOP stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.28. 5,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,138. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.30. The company has a market capitalization of $497.38 million, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.50. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.99 and a 12-month high of $56.04.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $497.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Koppers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers's payout ratio is 13.17%.

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.