Dean Capital Management Boosts Stake 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 holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 76.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,370 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned approximately 0.07% of Stepan worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 124.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 67.9% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter worth about $294,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter worth about $273,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCL. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Stepan Price Performance

Stepan stock opened at $48.73 on Wednesday. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $82.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 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.

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