Boston Partners Acquires New Stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Boston Partners bought a new position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 7,504 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KOP. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Koppers by 128.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 34,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Koppers by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,521,000 after acquiring an additional 20,586 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Koppers by 356.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 28,855 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Koppers by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Koppers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KOP opened at $28.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $575.96 million, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.74. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.00 and a 1 year high of $56.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $497.00 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Koppers’s payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KOP. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday.

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.