Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Koppers shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $49.00 and recently around $48.26, reflecting continued momentum in the stock.
• Recent analyst activity has been favorable, with multiple firms upgrading the stock and MarketBeat showing an average rating of Moderate Buy and a $52.50 average price target.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with $0.57 EPS versus $0.44 expected and revenue of $455.3 million versus $390.1 million expected, while Koppers also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share.

Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $49.00 and last traded at $48.2640, with a volume of 2718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KOP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Koppers from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Koppers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Koppers has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $927.94 million, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.25.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $455.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $390.10 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.10%.The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.47%.

Insider Transactions at Koppers

In other Koppers news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 3,412 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.90, for a total value of $149,786.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,151,067.70. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Koppers by 258.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the first quarter valued at $164,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.