Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP trimmed its position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 30,223 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP owned 0.08% of Stepan worth $950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in shares of Stepan by 196.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 11,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 7,712 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,188,000 after purchasing an additional 54,943 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Stepan during the 4th quarter worth about $324,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $165,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,841 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Stock Performance

SCL traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.24. 96,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,140. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $92.45.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th.

Stepan Company 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.