Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Short Interest Update

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 760,600 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the April 30th total of 642,200 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 193,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on KOP shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report 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.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in Koppers by 16.7% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 17,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Koppers by 374.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,076 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 41,097 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Koppers by 3.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 111,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Koppers by 1.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 107,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Koppers by 3.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of Koppers stock traded up $0.64 on Friday, hitting $32.22. The company had a trading volume of 77,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,642. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $644.72 million, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.50. Koppers has a 52 week low of $22.99 and a 52 week high of $42.58.

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

Koppers announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Koppers Company 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.