Core Capital Management & Research inc. Takes $2.67 Million Position in Stepan Company $SCL

Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 47,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,670,000. Stepan accounts for approximately 1.4% of Core Capital Management & Research inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Stepan in the second quarter worth approximately $2,682,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Stepan by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 174,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 96,823 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,354,000 after acquiring an additional 47,075 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth $1,302,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter worth $850,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SCL. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Stepan in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $61.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.26 and a 200 day moving average of $54.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -513.46 and a beta of 0.94. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $68.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.57. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The firm had revenue of $684.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.85 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,316.67%.

About Stepan

Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.

Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.