Numerai GP LLC Invests $1.07 Million in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000. Numerai GP LLC owned 0.07% of Stepan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $165,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,841 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Stepan by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Stepan by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,705,000 after purchasing an additional 17,283 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,311,000 after purchasing an additional 108,556 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,188,000 after purchasing an additional 54,943 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Stepan Stock Down 1.3%

SCL opened at $55.16 on Wednesday. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $44.23 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Stepan's payout ratio is 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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