Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Trading Up 2.4 %

KOP opened at $28.58 on Monday. Koppers has a one year low of $27.00 and a one year high of $56.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $579.29 million, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The business had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Koppers will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 13.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Koppers during the third quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Koppers by 83.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Koppers by 277.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Koppers by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.