Koppers (NYSE:KOP) Trading Down 5.1% on Insider Selling

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) dropped 5.1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $48.82 and last traded at $47.9480. 24,910 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 187,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.54.

Specifically, insider James A. Sullivan sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $4,000,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,803.98. This represents a 46.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Bradley A. Pearce sold 2,000 shares of Koppers stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 41,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,297.37. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KOP. Weiss Ratings cut Koppers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Koppers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Singular Research upgraded Koppers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Koppers in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Koppers presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Koppers

Here are the key news stories impacting Koppers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations. Koppers reported $1.37 in earnings per share versus the $1.12 consensus estimate, while revenue of $520.1 million topped forecasts of $506.1 million. Strong Performance Chemicals volumes and utility-pole demand offset pricing pressure and higher costs. KOP Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates on PC Unit Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Some future estimates were raised. Sidoti increased its Q1 2027 EPS forecast to $1.01 from $0.67 and raised its Q1 2028 estimate to $1.04 from $0.92, suggesting analysts see potential for stronger results in those periods.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend. Koppers will pay $0.09 per share on September 14 to shareholders of record on August 28, equivalent to a $0.36 annualized payout and an approximately 0.8% yield. The dividend is modest and unlikely to be a major near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is weighing on investor confidence. Director James A. Sullivan sold 80,000 shares for about $4.0 million on August 7 and another 7,500 shares for $375,000 on August 11, reducing his direct holdings substantially. Chief Accounting Officer Bradley Pearce also sold 2,000 shares for approximately $102,000. Koppers Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti lowered most major earnings forecasts. The firm cut its FY2026 EPS estimate to $4.18 from $4.38, FY2027 to $4.86 from $4.95 and FY2028 to $5.02 from $5.24. It also reduced several quarterly estimates, including Q3 and Q4 2026, indicating expectations for a less consistent earnings trajectory despite the latest quarterly beat.

Koppers Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $854.16 million, a PE ratio of -9.57, a PEG ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.75 and its 200-day moving average is $40.62.

Koppers (NYSE:KOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $520.10 million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Koppers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.800-4.200 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Koppers Holdings Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Koppers Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Koppers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Koppers by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Koppers by 3.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Koppers by 1.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 107,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Koppers by 3.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 111,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Koppers by 374.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,076 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 41,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.75% of the company’s stock.

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.