48,915 Shares in Stepan Company $SCL Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc purchased 48,915 Stepan shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.7 million and representing about 0.22% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 82.7% of Stepan.
• Stepan reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $1.18 versus the $0.61 consensus estimate and revenue of $684.1 million, up 15% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with ratings ranging from “buy” to “sell” and a consensus “Reduce” rating. Stepan also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.395 per share, implying a 2.5% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,726,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.22% of Stepan as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 206.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 570 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Stepan in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Stepan from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stepan has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Stepan Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $63.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -529.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.93. Stepan Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.82 and a fifty-two week high of $68.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The company had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $635.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is presently -1,316.67%.

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.

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