Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Raised to Strong-Buy at Singular Research

Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Koppers Price Performance

KOP opened at $36.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $774.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.84. Koppers has a 12-month low of $33.80 and a 12-month high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $563.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.17 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 3.72%. Koppers’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that Koppers will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.89%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In related news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $208,063.52. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,516. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Koppers by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,224 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Koppers by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Koppers by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Koppers by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Koppers by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.