Kennondale Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 9,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Koppers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Koppers by 83.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Koppers by 277.2% during the 3rd 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 period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Koppers by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KOP. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective 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 Thursday, March 13th.

Koppers Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $30.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $616.20 million, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.29 and a 200 day moving average of $33.91. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.96.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.