Grace & White Inc. NY lowered its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL – Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,800 shares during the period. Stepan makes up approximately 1.1% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned 0.57% of Stepan worth $6,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Stepan by 206.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Stepan in the second quarter worth about $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have issued reports on SCL shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell”.
Stepan Stock Performance
Stepan stock opened at $50.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.29. Stepan Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.82 and a fifty-two week high of $68.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 1.01.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.37). Stepan had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $553.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Stepan Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 77.07%.
Stepan Profile
Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.
Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.
Further Reading
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