Kennondale Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 9,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KOP. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 83.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 277.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Koppers in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Price Performance

NYSE KOP opened at $30.08 on Tuesday. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.00 and a 12-month high of $56.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $616.20 million, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.74.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.18). Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $497.00 million. Analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on KOP. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

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.