Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 11,584 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 413,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 11,584 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Koppers were worth $13,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 128.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,212,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Koppers by 356.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 28,855 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,022,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Koppers by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 9,156 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE KOP opened at $28.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.22 and a 200-day moving average of $33.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $575.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.74. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.00 and a 12 month high of $56.96.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.18). Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $477.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $497.00 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Koppers declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.