Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Raised to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE KOP traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 205,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,144. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $616.20 million, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.74. Koppers has a 1-year low of $27.00 and a 1-year high of $56.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.91.

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

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Koppers announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Koppers by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,444,000 after purchasing an additional 138,603 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Koppers by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 632,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Koppers by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,521,000 after buying an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.