GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 11,484.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,241 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.06% of Stepan worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stepan by 781.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $294,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $324,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, hitting $53.99. 162,560 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,702. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.02. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.64.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.