D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,403,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Stepan as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Stepan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,545,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,311,000 after purchasing an additional 108,556 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 383,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,824,000 after buying an additional 74,238 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,188,000 after buying an additional 54,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 145,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,433,000 after buying an additional 46,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $54.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $52.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.92. Stepan has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 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 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In related news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th.

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.