Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Given “Outperform” Rating at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $64.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Separately, Singular Research raised Koppers from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $67.50 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Koppers Trading Down 16.9 %

NYSE:KOP traded down $8.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.97. 328,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,187. Koppers has a 12-month low of $28.45 and a 12-month high of $58.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $924.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.86.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Koppers had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $497.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Koppers will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Koppers’s payout ratio is currently 6.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $267,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 323,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,288,010.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO James A. Sullivan sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total value of $37,807.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,005,479.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $267,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 323,080 shares in the company, valued at $17,288,010.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,591 shares of company stock worth $1,700,094 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KOP. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Koppers during the third quarter valued at $223,000. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.