Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) Stake Trimmed by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 224,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,938 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Koppers were worth $7,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Koppers by 83.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 277.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,520 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Koppers during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Koppers Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE KOP opened at $28.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.00 and a 1-year high of $56.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.47. The company has a market capitalization of $579.29 million, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.83.

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

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Koppers’s payout ratio is 13.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KOP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

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.