World Equity Group Inc. Takes $273,000 Position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

World Equity Group Inc. bought a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,960 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCL. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 781.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 124.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.58. The stock had a trading volume of 144,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,978. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan Company has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd.

Stepan Company Profile

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.