Financial Counselors Inc. Takes Position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,606 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Stepan by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Stepan by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,865 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th.

Stepan Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.90. 10,231 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.21. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one year high of $94.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.30. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94 and a beta of 1.01.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Stepan's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Stepan 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.