Bank of America Corp DE Sells 22,274 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter valued at about $488,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Koppers by 883.2% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 6,538 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Koppers by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,233 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Koppers by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,290,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Koppers Stock Performance

NYSE:KOP traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,224. The stock has a market capitalization of $630.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.99 and a 52 week high of $44.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.29.

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

Koppers declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Koppers's payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

About Koppers

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.