Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Position Lessened by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 11,584 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.04% of Koppers worth $13,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Koppers by 83.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Koppers by 277.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Koppers by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Koppers in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Koppers by 345.6% in the 3rd 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 period. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Koppers Stock Down 5.6 %

Koppers stock opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.71. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $575.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $477.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KOP. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Koppers 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.