Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,673 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.14% of Stepan worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.9% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.6% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $75.87 on Wednesday. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $75.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 quarterly 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.385 dividend. This is a positive change from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Stepan's payout ratio is 74.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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.