Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Crossed above its 200-day moving average: Koppers shares traded around $37.38 after moving above the 200‑day MA of $30.86, with the 50‑day MA at $35.96, indicating bullish technical momentum.
• Analyst outlook improving: Recent upgrades and reissued coverage leave Koppers with a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of about $52.50 (two Buy and two Hold ratings).
• Mixed fundamentals — EPS beat but revenue down: Q1 EPS of $0.70 topped estimates while revenue fell 9.3% year‑over‑year; management set FY2026 EPS guidance of 4.200–5.000 and the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (≈1.0% yield).

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $30.86 and traded as high as $37.50. Koppers shares last traded at $37.3820, with a volume of 87,578 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Koppers Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $722.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.86.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.11. Koppers had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 2.98%.The firm had revenue of $432.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.200-5.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Koppers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 2,489 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.91, for a total value of $94,357.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 447,459 shares in the company, valued at $16,963,170.69. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Koppers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOP. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Koppers during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in Koppers during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Koppers by 258.1% during 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 last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Koppers by 95.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Koppers by 23.5% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company's stock.

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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