Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.38% of Stepan worth $165,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in Stepan by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 28,655 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Stepan by 19.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stepan by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Stepan by 110.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Stepan Stock Up 1.1 %
NYSE SCL traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.10. 133,675 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,870. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Stepan Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.68%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Stepan
About Stepan
(
Free Report)
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.
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