Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $50.07 and last traded at $49.33, with a volume of 23373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Koppers Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $949.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.68 and a 200 day moving average of $37.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 9.47%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 3,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total transaction of $149,786.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 436,243 shares in the company, valued at $19,151,067.70. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Koppers

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Koppers by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 107,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Koppers by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 111,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Koppers by 374.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,076 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 41,097 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Koppers Company Profile

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.