Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 23,077 Shares of Stepan Company $SCL

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 16.5% during the first quarter, holding approximately 0.52% of the company valued at $6.4 million.
• Several large investors, including BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, significantly increased their holdings in Stepan during the fourth quarter, indicating shifting investor interest.
• Stepan reported disappointing earnings for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates with an EPS of $0.52 and revenue of $594.69 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 23,077 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Stepan worth $6,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Stepan by 124.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 67.9% during 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 during the period. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter worth about $352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.58. 70,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,598. 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's 50 day moving average is $51.57 and its 200 day moving average is $53.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $594.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.25 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 2.57%.Stepan's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is 60.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

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.