Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $6.02 Million Holdings in Stepan Company $SCL

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has increased its holdings in Stepan Company by 10.6%, now owning approximately 109,339 shares valued at $6.02 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Recent analysts' recommendations have downgraded Stepan's stock, with ratings shifting from "buy" to "hold" and "strong sell," contributing to an overall average rating of "sell."
• Stepan Company has reported disappointing quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.52, missing estimates by $0.40, and will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.385 per share on September 15th.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.48% of Stepan worth $6,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 35.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 1st quarter worth about $4,971,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,197,000 after acquiring an additional 43,006 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Stepan by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 277,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,948,000 after buying an additional 28,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Stepan by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,470,000 after buying an additional 23,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SCL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Sell".

Stepan Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SCL stock opened at $49.95 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.17 and a 200-day moving average of $53.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $82.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.97.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 2.57%.The company had revenue of $594.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $598.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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