Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 84.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,662 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,192 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Stepan were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Stepan by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,460,000 after buying an additional 28,655 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,639,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $324,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Stepan by 196.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 11,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 7,712 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL traded up $1.28 on Monday, reaching $56.03. 76,074 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,233. Stepan has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $51.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Stepan's payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Stepan

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.