Pullen Investment Management LLC Purchases 15,935 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 225.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,990 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,935 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Stepan worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,606 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,865 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 781.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stepan Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:SCL traded up $0.80 on Monday, reaching $55.22. 16,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,379. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.28. Stepan has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The company had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Stepan's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Stepan's payout ratio is 62.60%.

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.