Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 57.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 20,794 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.07% of Stepan worth $993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Stepan by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Stepan during the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at about $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stepan Price Performance

Stepan stock traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $56.03. The stock had a trading volume of 76,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,233. Stepan has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

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.