Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.09

Key Points

• Koppers declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, payable December 14 to shareholders of record November 27. The annualized dividend is $0.36 per share, a yield of about 0.8%.
• The dividend appears well covered: Koppers’ current payout ratio is 6.9%, and analysts expect a 7.4% payout ratio based on next year’s projected earnings.
• Koppers reported quarterly earnings of $1.37 per share, beating the $1.12 analyst estimate, while revenue of $520.1 million also exceeded expectations.

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Monday, December 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th.

Koppers has a payout ratio of 6.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Koppers to earn $4.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.4%.

Koppers Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $42.85 on Thursday. Koppers has a 12-month low of $25.00 and a 12-month high of $53.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.30 million, a P/E ratio of -9.08 and a beta of 1.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $520.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.10 million. Koppers had a positive return on equity of 14.98% and a negative net margin of 4.59%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Koppers will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In related news, SVP Stephen G. Lucas sold 1,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.55, for a total transaction of $58,271.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 34,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,530,069.75. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Leroy Ball sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.96, for a total transaction of $183,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 429,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,742,347.80. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,808 shares of company stock valued at $4,857,451. 7.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Koppers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Koppers by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,124,000 after buying an additional 52,289 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the second quarter worth $9,993,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Koppers in the second quarter valued at about $5,294,000. JB Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Koppers in the second quarter valued at about $3,506,735. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 87.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 69,979 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 32,658 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Koppers

Koppers Holdings Inc NYSE: KOP is a global provider of treated wood products, carbon compounds and performance chemicals. The company serves infrastructure, industrial and utility markets with products designed to preserve, protect and extend the service life of wood and other materials.

Koppers operates through two primary business areas: Railroad and Utility Products and Services, and Performance Chemicals. Its offerings include treated railroad crossties, utility poles, pilings and other wood products, as well as wood preservatives and related treatment services.

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