M Leroy Ball Sells 2,659 Shares of Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock

Key Points

• Koppers CEO M. Leroy Ball sold 2,659 shares on May 13 at an average price of $42.55, worth about $113,140. After the sale, he still held 444,096 shares, so the transaction trimmed his stake only slightly.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations for the quarter, reporting EPS of $0.57 versus the $0.44 estimate and revenue of $455.3 million versus $390.1 million expected. However, revenue was still slightly down year over year and Koppers cut its adjusted EBITDA outlook due to higher oil and input costs.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $52.50. Institutional ownership is also high, and several firms recently increased their stakes in the stock.

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) CEO M Leroy Ball sold 2,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $113,140.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 444,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,896,284.80. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

M Leroy Ball also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 17th, M Leroy Ball sold 2,489 shares of Koppers stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.91, for a total value of $94,357.99.

Koppers Stock Performance

Shares of KOP traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 367,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,703. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $25.00 and a one year high of $46.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.90 million, a PE ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.79.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Koppers had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 4.10%.The company had revenue of $455.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $390.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Koppers's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Koppers's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.47%.

Trending Headlines about Koppers

Here are the key news stories impacting Koppers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sidoti raised its earnings forecasts for Koppers, increasing estimates for FY2026, FY2027, Q1 2027 and Q3 2026. Higher analyst profit expectations can support the stock by signaling confidence in Koppers’ longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: One recent analysis argued that Koppers’ Performance Chemicals segment is stronger than previously thought, pointing to a 20% sales increase and 30% EBITDA growth in that business. That suggests part of the company is recovering better than expected.
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier coverage also noted Koppers beat EPS expectations by 27%, which reinforces the view that the company can outperform forecasts when conditions are favorable.
• Neutral Sentiment: Koppers named a Nova Chemicals executive as CFO. A new finance chief may be viewed as a governance and strategy update, but the stock impact is unclear until investors see the new CFO’s priorities and execution.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s CEO, M. Leroy Ball, sold 2,659 shares in a reported insider transaction. The sale was relatively small compared with his remaining stake, so it may not be a major signal on its own, but insider selling can still weigh on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the better segment performance, Koppers cut its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $240 million-$260 million due to rising oil and input costs and weak demand. That margin pressure is likely the biggest near-term concern for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Overall 1Q26 results were mixed, with total EBITDA down 10% even as Performance Chemicals improved. The combination of cost inflation and pressured end markets helps explain why the stock may be falling.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing 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 valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Koppers during the first quarter worth $164,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KOP shares. Zacks Research raised Koppers from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Koppers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Koppers from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Koppers has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

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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