Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Purchases 17,361 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 424,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,361 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 1.89% of Stepan worth $35,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Stepan by 229.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 8,870 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at $12,869,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Stepan in the first quarter worth $648,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Stepan by 36.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,337,000 after buying an additional 18,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the second quarter valued at $679,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other Stepan news, VP David Kabbes acquired 1,056 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 28th.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.78. The company had a trading volume of 90,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,067. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $77.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Stepan has a 1 year low of $63.60 and a 1 year high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.26). Stepan had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The company had revenue of $556.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $581.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Stepan's payout ratio is 90.36%.

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.