Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Koppers shares hit a new 52-week high near $40.24 on Friday, up about 3.7% and trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $52.50, reflecting two Buy and two Hold analyst ratings and several recent upgrades.
• Mixed fundamentals: The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.70 vs. $0.59) despite revenue falling 9.3% year-over-year, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09, and set FY2026 guidance of 4.20–5.00 EPS (analysts expect ~4.2).

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.21 and last traded at $40.2440, with a volume of 52591 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Koppers from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Koppers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised Koppers from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Koppers has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Up 3.7%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.92 million, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $432.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.00 million. Koppers had a net margin of 2.98% and a return on equity of 15.47%. Koppers's revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.200-5.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from Koppers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Koppers

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 2,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.91, for a total transaction of $94,357.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 447,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,963,170.69. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KOP. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Koppers in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Koppers by 258.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Koppers by 95.6% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Koppers by 23.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,235 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Koppers Company Profile

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.

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