DGS Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

DGS Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,749 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Koppers were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Koppers in the 4th quarter valued at $488,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Koppers by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 184,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Koppers by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,293 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 16.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Koppers by 20.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 568,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 97,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Trading Down 1.2 %

Koppers stock opened at $31.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $635.06 million, a PE ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.90. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.25 and a 12 month high of $58.23.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.12. Koppers had a net margin of 3.55% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $554.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $571.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO M Leroy Ball sold 6,000 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.26, for a total value of $223,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 314,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,711,749.50. This trade represents a 1.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen R. Tritch sold 3,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total transaction of $131,003.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,770,087.96. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,533 shares of company stock worth $544,164 over the last three months. 6.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KOP has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Koppers Company 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.