Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $31.62 and last traded at $31.88, with a volume of 9052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KOP. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Stock Down 1.3 %

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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.33. The company has a market capitalization of $634.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89 and a beta 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The firm had revenue of $554.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio is 7.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 315,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,949,691.68. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of Koppers 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,533 shares of company stock valued at $544,164 over the last ninety days. 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 bought and sold shares of KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 91.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 368,709 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 168,063 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the second quarter worth about $5,671,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,022,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 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.