Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 8,423 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 8,423 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.41% of Koppers worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KOP. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Koppers during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Koppers by 145.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth about $136,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Koppers by 196.7% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Koppers Stock Performance

Shares of KOP traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.40. The stock had a trading volume of 103,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,609. The firm has a market cap of $628.31 million, a PE ratio of 8.92 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 one year low of $22.99 and a one year high of $44.64. The firm 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 data on Friday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.15. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The company had revenue of $456.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $488.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 27.59%.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding 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 typically a sign 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.