Stepan Company $SCL Stock: Inspire Investing LLC Increases Holdings

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC increased its Stepan holdings by 307.1% in the third quarter, owning 49,768 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 82.7% of SCL’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with Stepan carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; recommendations include a $85 price target and upgrades to Buy and Strong Buy.
• Stepan exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.18 earnings per share versus a $0.61 estimate and revenue of $684.1 million, up 15% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.395 per share, yielding about 2.5% annually.

Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,768 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 37,542 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC owned about 0.22% of Stepan worth $3,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCL. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 194.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Stepan from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Stepan in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $63.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -532.02 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $62.63 and its 200-day moving average is $57.67. Stepan Company has a one year low of $41.82 and a one year high of $68.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.57. Stepan had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. The company had revenue of $684.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.3950 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,316.67%.

Stepan Profile

Stepan Company NYSE: SCL is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company develops products used by manufacturers in consumer and industrial markets.

Stepan's principal products include surfactants, which are used in detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, agricultural formulations and other applications. The company also produces polyurethane polyols, phthalic anhydride and other specialty chemicals used in insulation, construction materials, coatings, plastics, food packaging and related industrial products.

Stepan serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia through a network of manufacturing facilities, research and development operations, and sales organizations.

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