Voloridge Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,245 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Stepan worth $5,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Stepan by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 25th.

Stepan Stock Down 2.3%

SCL traded down $1.27 on Friday, hitting $54.24. 134,281 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,418. Stepan has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Stepan 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.