ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,242 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,861 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.49% of Stepan worth $7,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Stepan by 177.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 28,655 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Stepan by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Stepan
In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.
Stepan Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 177,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,420. Stepan has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.
Stepan Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Stepan's payout ratio is presently 62.60%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SCL
About Stepan
(
Free Report)
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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