Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $29.18 and last traded at $29.18, with a volume of 584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Trading Up 2.1 %

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 $613.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.86. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.17.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.80 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. Koppers's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Koppers's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 47,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,770,087.96. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,533 shares of company stock valued at $544,164. 6.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $261,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 13.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 0.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 76,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 1.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,187,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,942,000 after purchasing an additional 18,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Koppers by 11.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 78,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.