Barclays PLC Acquires 28,855 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 356.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 28,855 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Koppers by 91.8% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 770,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,134,000 after acquiring an additional 368,709 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 586.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,276,000 after purchasing an additional 168,063 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after purchasing an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Koppers by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 59,460 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Koppers Price Performance

KOP opened at $31.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.56 and a 200 day moving average of $36.79. The stock has a market cap of $647.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.64 and a 52-week high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $554.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KOP. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Singular Research raised shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.92, for a total transaction of $189,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 315,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,949,691.68. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total value of $131,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 47,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,770,087.96. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,533 shares of company stock valued at $544,164. Corporate insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

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.