Stepan Company $SCL Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Stepan Company by 9.5%, owning approximately 2.19% of the company valued at $27.2 million following the purchase of 43,006 additional shares.
• Stepan shares recently traded with a market capitalization of $1.18 billion and reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings of $0.52 per share, significantly below the expected $0.92.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.385, with investors set to receive this on September 15, representing a 3.0% yield.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 494,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 43,006 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.19% of Stepan worth $27,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Stepan by 124.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 67.9% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Sell".

Stepan Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $51.9640 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $54.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.96. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $82.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $594.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.25 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 4.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

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.

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