Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Singular Research

Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Koppers Trading Down 2.4 %

Koppers stock opened at $36.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.53. Koppers has a one year low of $33.80 and a one year high of $58.23. The stock has a market cap of $774.01 million, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.84.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.09. Koppers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 3.72%. The firm had revenue of $563.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Koppers will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 7.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $208,063.52. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,300 shares in the company, valued at $388,516. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Koppers in the 2nd quarter worth about $96,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Koppers in the 2nd quarter worth about $568,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Koppers by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Koppers by 586.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,276,000 after purchasing an additional 168,063 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Koppers by 167.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 94,884 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 59,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

About Koppers

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.