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6 Reasons to Add Koppers (KOP) Stock to Your Portfolio

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Koppers Holdings Inc.’s (KOP - Free Report) stock looks promising at the moment. Koppers is a leading integrated producer of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds.

We are positive on the company’s prospects and believe that the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead.

With respect to share price performance, Koppers’ shares have gained around 45% over the past two years, outperforming the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry’s gain of 14.2%.


Let’s delve deeper into the factors that make this chemical company an attractive investment option.

What’s Working in Favor of Koppers?

Solid Rank & VGM Score: Koppers currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value Growth Momentum Score (VGM Score) of ‘A’. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2, offer the best investment opportunities for investors. Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition at the moment.

Upbeat Outlook: Koppers, in May, raised its earnings outlook for 2017. The company now sees adjusted earnings in the range of $2.80 to $3.00 per share for 2017, compared with the earlier expectations of $2.75 to $2.85 per share. The revision is mainly due to lower than expected effective tax rate. The company also retained its adjusted EBITDA forecast of roughly $180 million for 2017, which reflects an increase from $174 million recorded in the prior year.
 
Estimates Moving Up: Annual estimates for Koppers have moved north over the past three months, reflecting analysts’ confidence on the stock. Over this period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 has increased by around 4.3% to $2.92 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 has also moved up 1.5% over the same timeframe to $3.33.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Koppers has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 62.04%.

Healthy Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for 2017 for Koppers is currently pegged at $2.92 per share, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 12.4%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register a 14% growth in 2018. The stock also has a long-term (3-5 years) expected earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of roughly 18%, higher than the industry average of 9.3%.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Koppers’ ROE of 217.6%, as compared with the industry average of 22.8%, manifests the company’s efficiency in utilizing shareholder’s funds.

Koppers Holdings Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Koppers Holdings Inc. Price and Consensus | Koppers Holdings Inc. Quote

Other Stocks to Consider

Other well-placed companies in the chemicals space include Albemarle Corporation (ALB - Free Report) , FMC Corporation (FMC - Free Report) and Eastman Chemical Company (EMN - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Albemarle has an expected long-term earnings growth of 14.5%.

FMC has an expected long-term earnings growth of 11%.

Eastman Chemical has an expected long-term earnings growth of 7.9%.

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