Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.53 and last traded at $30.53, with a volume of 89659 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KOP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Koppers Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $618.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $571.80 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $189,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 315,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Koppers by 91.8% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,134,000 after purchasing an additional 368,709 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 586.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,276,000 after acquiring an additional 168,063 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Koppers during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Koppers by 137.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 59,460 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.