Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $991,000 Stock Position in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Koppers were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KOP. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Koppers during the third quarter valued at $37,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Koppers by 83.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in Koppers by 145.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,027 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Koppers in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Koppers Stock Performance

KOP opened at $29.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $610.48 million, a PE ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.25 and a 200-day moving average of $33.79. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.00 and a 52-week high of $56.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.54.

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

Koppers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Koppers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is 13.17%.

Koppers announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.