Vanguard Group Inc. Has $122.60 Million Position in Stepan Company $SCL

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,570,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,320 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Stepan worth $122,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 14.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 6.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,599,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,276,000 after purchasing an additional 91,746 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 15.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 11,527 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 6.7% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stepan presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $49.41 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.79. Stepan Company has a one year low of $41.82 and a one year high of $68.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.37). Stepan had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $553.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.395 dividend. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.07%.

Stepan Company 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.