Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Shares Gap Down to $52.91

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $52.91, but opened at $51.60. Koppers shares last traded at $47.39, with a volume of 46,126 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KOP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Friday. Singular Research upgraded Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.50 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Koppers Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $925.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $513.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.67 million. Koppers had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.75%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In other Koppers news, SVP Leslie S. Hyde sold 22,403 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total transaction of $1,207,745.73. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,522.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Koppers news, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total transaction of $37,807.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,005,479.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Leslie S. Hyde sold 22,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total transaction of $1,207,745.73. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,522.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,591 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,094. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Koppers during the third quarter worth $88,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers in the third quarter valued at $223,000. 92.75% of the stock is 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.