JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 112.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,582 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,022 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.70% of Koppers worth $4,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KOP. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Koppers by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,444,000 after buying an additional 138,603 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after acquiring an additional 97,586 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 128.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 28,855 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Koppers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $488,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KOP. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Price Performance

NYSE KOP opened at $24.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $509.75 million, a PE ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.50. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.99 and a 52-week high of $54.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.06.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 27th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.