Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $29.31 and traded as high as $29.72. Koppers shares last traded at $29.4640, with a volume of 133,286 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KOP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $577.79 million, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.31.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.04). Koppers had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 0.84%.The business had revenue of $485.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Koppers has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.000-4.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Koppers by 2.2% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,248,032 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,124,000 after buying an additional 26,704 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Koppers by 17.1% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 954,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,724,000 after acquiring an additional 139,600 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Koppers by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quaker Capital Investments LLC now owns 418,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,714,000 after acquiring an additional 40,166 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Koppers by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 321,277 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,327,000 after purchasing an additional 34,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Koppers by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 224,670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Koppers

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.