Invesco Ltd. Sells 81,712 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Invesco Ltd. lowered its stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 81,712 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.13% of Koppers worth $7,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Koppers by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,444,000 after buying an additional 138,603 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 112.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 141,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 75,022 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 177,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,753,000 after acquiring an additional 67,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Koppers by 356.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 28,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company's stock.

Koppers Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:KOP traded down $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $25.09. The stock had a trading volume of 159,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,708. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.99 and a 1 year high of $53.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $27.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $513.99 million, a P/E ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.50.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $497.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. Analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Koppers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Koppers's payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KOP shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd.

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.