6,400 Shares in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) Bought by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SCL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Stepan by 60.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,798,000 after buying an additional 2,731 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 67.9% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its position in Stepan by 11.4% during the first quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 135,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,431,000 after buying an additional 13,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in Stepan during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.03. 71,932 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,576. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.17. Stepan Company has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99 and a beta of 1.01.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stepan Company 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.