Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $35.70 and last traded at $34.90, with a volume of 89792 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Koppers from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Koppers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market cap of $689.80 million, a P/E ratio of 43.95 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.34 and its 200 day moving average is $28.88.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 45.00%.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

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