Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $29.31 and traded as high as $29.72. Koppers shares last traded at $29.4640, with a volume of 133,286 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KOP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Koppers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Koppers from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.50.

Koppers Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $577.79 million, a P/E ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.31.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $485.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.50 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 0.84%.Koppers’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Koppers has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.000-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Koppers in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,725,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Koppers by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 954,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,724,000 after purchasing an additional 139,600 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Koppers in the third quarter worth approximately $3,635,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Koppers by 145.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 186,729 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,003,000 after purchasing an additional 110,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the third quarter worth approximately $1,730,000. 92.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Koppers

Koppers Company, Inc is a global specialty chemicals and materials manufacturer serving diverse industrial markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals, which produces a range of coal tar–based products, phenolic specialties and carbon compounds; and Railroad Products & Services, which offers wood treating and infrastructure services for rail and utility customers.

In its Carbon Materials & Chemicals segment, Koppers supplies coal tar pitch, refined creosote, coal tar‐based distillates and phenolic resins used in aluminum smelting, graphite electrode manufacture, carbon fiber production, and water treatment applications.