New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $4.02 Million Stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,149 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.28% of Stepan worth $4,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Stepan by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 24.8% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,417 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,079. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a 12 month low of $56.85 and a 12 month high of $94.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan's payout ratio is 69.68%.

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.