Grace & White Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Grace & White Inc. NY raised its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 accounts for approximately 1.4% of Grace & White Inc. NY's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY owned approximately 0.60% of Stepan worth $7,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 3.9% during the 4th 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 stake in shares of Stepan by 4.0% during the 4th 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. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 4.3% during the 4th 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. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 781.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Stepan Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of SCL opened at $53.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.53. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.02.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 4.61%. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Stepan's payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

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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