Dean Capital Management Raises Holdings in Stepan Company $SCL

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management increased its stake in Stepan Company by 76.0%, owning approximately 0.07% of the company after acquiring an additional 6,370 shares in the first quarter.
• Recent analysis has seen a shift in ratings for Stepan, with Zacks Research downgrading the stock from a "hold" to a "strong sell," and the current consensus rating is a "Sell."
• Stepan recently declared a dividend of $0.385 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 60.63%.

Dean Capital Management lifted its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 76.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,370 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned about 0.07% of Stepan worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,571,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $141,538,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,252,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $68,960,000 after acquiring an additional 331,210 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,197,000 after acquiring an additional 43,006 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,470,000 after acquiring an additional 23,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Stepan by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 280,778 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $15,454,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stepan has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $48.06. 21,799 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 133,462. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $82.08.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 2.57%.The firm had revenue of $594.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $598.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

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.