Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 10,677 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.22% of Koppers worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Koppers by 170.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Koppers during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Koppers by 83.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Koppers in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Koppers by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total value of $223,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,749.50. This represents a 1.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total value of $131,003.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,087.96. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Trading Up 0.1 %

KOP opened at $38.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.17. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.80 and a 1-year high of $58.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $554.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $571.80 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KOP has been the topic of several research reports. Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

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.