8,840 Shares in Stepan Company $SCL Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 5,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 508,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,758,000 after acquiring an additional 9,207 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Stepan by 37.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Stepan in the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Stepan by 22.7% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 28,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 5,225 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $45.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $41.82 and a 1-year high of $77.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $590.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $593.65 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 3.70% and a net margin of 1.96%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.395 per share. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Stepan in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Company Profile

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.