Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 86,246 Shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) by 193.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,246 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Koppers were worth $4,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 16.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 66,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 9,156 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Koppers in the fourth quarter valued at about $488,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Koppers by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Trading Up 0.9%

KOP opened at $30.67 on Thursday. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.99 and a twelve month high of $45.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $628.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.44.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $456.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $488.00 million. Koppers had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Koppers’s payout ratio is 27.59%.

Koppers declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 27th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Koppers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Koppers in a research report on Tuesday.

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.