4,540 Shares in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Acquired by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 28,655 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Stepan by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,031,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,639,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $165,671,000 after buying an additional 25,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth about $324,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.12. 164,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,211. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 1.00. Stepan has a 52-week low of $44.23 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Stepan's payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

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.