Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,609 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 22,274 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.54% of Koppers worth $3,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Koppers by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,094,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Koppers by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,444,000 after purchasing an additional 138,603 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Koppers by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 632,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Koppers by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 248,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,425 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Koppers by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 201,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,530,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KOP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th.

Koppers Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE KOP traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.40. 103,448 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,440. 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 price of $27.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.30. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.99 and a 12-month high of $44.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $628.31 million, a PE ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.44.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $456.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $488.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Koppers declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in 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 generally an indication that the company's board of directors 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.