Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.00 and last traded at $48.2640, with a volume of 2718 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Koppers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Koppers from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $932.62 million, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its 200 day moving average is $37.56.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $455.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.10 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 3,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $149,786.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,151,067.70. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Koppers by 258.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 95.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Koppers by 23.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Koppers during the third quarter worth about $160,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.