Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.84 and last traded at $46.6310, with a volume of 17696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KOP shares. Weiss Ratings raised Koppers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Koppers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.19. The stock has a market cap of $916.75 million, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 1.26.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. Koppers had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.10%.The company had revenue of $455.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Koppers’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.47%.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 3,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $149,786.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 436,243 shares in the company, valued at $19,151,067.70. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 0.4% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,209,376 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Koppers by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,191,358 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,082,000 after buying an additional 17,833 shares during the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $22,032,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Koppers by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 568,413 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,393,000 after acquiring an additional 22,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quaker Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Quaker Capital Investments LLC now owns 474,865 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,859,000 after acquiring an additional 56,500 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Koppers

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.