Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Stepan Company $SCL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Stepan Company by 0.4%, now owning approximately 11.40% of the company, valued at about $141.54 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly raised their positions in Stepan, with Sterling Capital Management LLC increasing its holdings by 781.4% during the last quarter.
• Stepan recently faced downgrades from analysts, with one research firm lowering its rating from "buy" to "hold" and another from "hold" to "strong sell".

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,571,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.40% of Stepan worth $141,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 11,484.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 14,241 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Stepan by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Stepan by 1.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth about $1,403,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Stepan by 60.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, Stepan has an average rating of "Sell".

Stepan Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Stepan stock traded down $1.2040 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.6860. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.98. Stepan Company has a one year low of $44.23 and a one year high of $82.08.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is 60.63%.

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.