Empowered Funds LLC Invests $4.62 Million in Koppers Holdings Inc. $KOP

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 102,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,615,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KOP. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Koppers in the 2nd quarter valued at $136,837,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,652,000. Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Koppers during the 4th quarter worth about $22,032,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,993,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Koppers during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,269,000. 92.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Koppers Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:KOP opened at $45.76 on Tuesday. Koppers Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.00 and a 52 week high of $53.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.57 and its 200-day moving average is $42.04. The company has a market capitalization of $865.32 million, a PE ratio of -9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.25.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $520.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $506.10 million. Koppers had a negative net margin of 4.59% and a positive return on equity of 14.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.200 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koppers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Koppers’s dividend payout ratio is currently -7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Singular Research upgraded shares of Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Koppers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Koppers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James A. Sullivan sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 82,898 shares in the company, valued at $4,144,900. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Bradley A. Pearce sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.01, for a total value of $102,020.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 41,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,297.37. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,220 shares of company stock worth $4,823,398. Corporate insiders own 7.28% of the company’s stock.

Koppers Company Profile

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.