Rhumbline Advisers Trims Holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 11,451 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.29% of Stepan worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP increased 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 valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE:SCL traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.31. The stock had a trading volume of 81,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.06. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.02.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.61% and a net margin of 2.53%. The business had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.