Barclays PLC Has $3.46 Million Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 28,655 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Stepan worth $3,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stepan during the third quarter worth $48,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the second quarter valued at $59,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Stepan by 43.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth about $129,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.42. 36,120 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,469. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.77. 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 has a 52 week low of $66.19 and a 52 week high of $96.01.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $577.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current 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 $0.385 dividend. This is a boost from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Stepan's payout ratio is 76.62%.

Stepan 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.