American Century Companies Inc. Buys 43,006 Shares of Stepan Company $SCL

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

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Stepan by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,688 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,806,000 after buying an additional 18,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 4.3% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE:SCL traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.23. 15,544 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,857. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one year high of $82.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $53.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.73. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $594.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $598.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Stepan's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.