PDT Partners LLC Invests $2.68 Million in Stepan Company $SCL

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 48,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Stepan during the second quarter valued at approximately $192,698,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,354,000 after acquiring an additional 47,075 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 477,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after acquiring an additional 23,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,207,000 after acquiring an additional 198,457 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SCL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Stepan in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $62.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -521.67 and a beta of 0.94. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $68.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.85 million. Stepan had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.395 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,316.67%.

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.