Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 458,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 110,481 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.26% of Koppers worth $14,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the third quarter worth about $37,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 549 shares during 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 last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Koppers by 345.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Koppers Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $32.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $653.88 million, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.83. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.57 and a fifty-two week high of $58.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.72.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s payout ratio is currently 9.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KOP. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

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.