4,960 Shares in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) Bought by World Equity Group Inc.

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Stepan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,634,000 after purchasing an additional 60,985 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,705,000 after purchasing an additional 17,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,311,000 after buying an additional 108,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $53.99 on Friday. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average is $53.14 and its 200-day moving average is $58.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Stepan

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.