US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 145.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Koppers were worth $66,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Koppers by 83.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Koppers by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Koppers by 5.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Koppers during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its stake 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KOP shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Koppers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KOP opened at $30.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $616.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $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. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.00 and a 12 month high of $56.96.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

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

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.