State Street Corp Boosts Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 5.31% of Stepan worth $92,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCL. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 176.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 7,262 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 4,635 shares in the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth about $690,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter worth approximately $168,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at $170,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 409.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,053 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,111,000 after purchasing an additional 73,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.46. 106,989 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 94,465. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $96.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.20 and a 200-day moving average of $78.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.