Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Singular Research

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) was upgraded by Singular Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Koppers Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of KOP stock opened at $36.54 on Friday. Koppers has a 1-year low of $33.80 and a 1-year high of $58.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.64. The firm has a market cap of $774.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $563.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.17 million. Koppers had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 17.16%. Koppers’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Koppers will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Koppers

In other Koppers news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total value of $208,063.52. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,516. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Koppers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 91.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 119,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,601,000 after purchasing an additional 57,252 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Koppers by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,018 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,587,000 after buying an additional 28,605 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 37.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 132,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,883,000 after acquiring an additional 35,741 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers during the second quarter worth about $5,671,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Koppers in the second quarter worth about $700,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.