Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 11.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KOP. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Koppers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,671,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 91.7% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 119,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,601,000 after acquiring an additional 57,252 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 472,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,086,000 after acquiring an additional 45,003 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 37.1% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 122,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,737,000 after acquiring an additional 32,191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Price Performance

Shares of Koppers stock opened at $36.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.44 million, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.84. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $33.80 and a one year high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.09. Koppers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 3.72%. The business had revenue of $563.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joseph P. Dowd sold 5,516 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total value of $208,063.52. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,516. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KOP shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Koppers Profile

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.