JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 9,156 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,156 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.33% of Koppers worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Koppers by 128.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,212,000 after purchasing an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Koppers by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,521,000 after acquiring an additional 20,586 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Koppers by 356.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 28,855 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,022,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Koppers

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total value of $223,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,749.50. This represents a 1.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,533 shares of company stock valued at $544,164 in the last three months. 6.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KOP. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KOP opened at $31.89 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.00. The company has a market cap of $646.36 million, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 1.86. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.25 and a twelve month high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The business had revenue of $554.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $571.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.95%.

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.