Grace & White Inc. NY Has $7.43 Million Holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Grace & White Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,866 shares during the period. Stepan comprises about 1.4% of Grace & White Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned 0.60% of Stepan worth $7,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $165,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,841 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,634,000 after buying an additional 60,985 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Stepan by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,705,000 after buying an additional 17,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,311,000 after buying an additional 108,556 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd.

Stepan Trading Up 1.3%

Stepan stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.25. 58,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,641. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.21. Stepan Company has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Stepan's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's payout ratio is 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.