Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Position Lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,626 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.63% of Stepan worth $11,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stepan during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan in the second quarter worth $129,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at $161,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th.

Stepan Stock Performance

Stepan stock opened at $60.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a one year low of $59.70 and a one year high of $95.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.62%.

About Stepan

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.