O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Has $4 Million Stock Position in Stepan Company $SCL

Key Points

• O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Stepan Company by 9.7%, owning 73,289 shares worth $4 million, representing 1.1% of its investment portfolio.
• Stepan's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.52, missing estimates, with revenue of $594.69 million, indicating a 6.9% growth year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.385, yielding around 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 60.63%.

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,289 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,451 shares during the quarter. Stepan accounts for about 1.1% of O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. owned about 0.32% of Stepan worth $4,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SCL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 35.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 331,210 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,971,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,197,000 after purchasing an additional 43,006 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,421 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,470,000 after purchasing an additional 23,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 225.9% during the 1st quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,990 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 15,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

Stepan stock opened at $49.17 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.96. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one year high of $82.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.50.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.40). The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SCL. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Stepan in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research lowered Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stepan has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

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.

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