Short Interest in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Expands By 20.4%

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 309,200 shares, an increase of 20.4% from the August 31st total of 256,800 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Koppers news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $208,063.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,516. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koppers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Koppers by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,224 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,767 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE KOP traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 126,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,958. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.93. Koppers has a twelve month low of $33.80 and a twelve month high of $58.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.84.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.09. Koppers had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The business had revenue of $563.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Koppers’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Koppers will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 7.89%.

About Koppers

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.