Stepan Company $SCL Holdings Lifted by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Stepan Company by 7.4%, now owning approximately 0.69% of the company, which amounts to about $8.62 million.
• Stepan Company reported a loss in earnings per share of $0.40 below analyst estimates in its latest quarterly results, alongside a year-over-year revenue growth of 6.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.385, which provides an annual yield of 3.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 60.63%.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,840 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.69% of Stepan worth $8,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,571,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $141,538,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,806,000 after acquiring an additional 18,392 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 35.9% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,252,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $68,960,000 after acquiring an additional 331,210 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,311,000 after purchasing an additional 108,556 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,470,000 after purchasing an additional 23,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Stepan Price Performance

SCL stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.16. The company had a trading volume of 141,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,770. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.92 and a 200 day moving average of $54.65. Stepan Company has a fifty-two week low of $44.23 and a fifty-two week high of $82.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 2.57%.The firm had revenue of $594.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Stepan's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

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.