Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.72 and last traded at $38.62, with a volume of 204866 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on KOP. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Koppers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.41 million, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.21.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. Koppers had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 2.98%.The business had revenue of $432.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.200-5.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Koppers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth $42,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Koppers in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Koppers by 258.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Koppers by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Company Profile

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.