Semanteon Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 8,844 Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 908,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,444,000 after buying an additional 138,603 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Koppers during the 3rd quarter worth $4,022,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,778,000 after buying an additional 97,586 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 128.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 60,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,212,000 after buying an additional 34,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Koppers by 314.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 44,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 33,817 shares in the last quarter. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KOP shares. StockNews.com raised Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of KOP opened at $28.12 on Friday. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.00 and a 12-month high of $56.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $575.96 million, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Koppers announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s payout ratio is 13.17%.

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.