PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 1,121 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,948,000 after purchasing an additional 24,721 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Stepan by 229.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 8,870 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Stepan by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,568,000 after acquiring an additional 31,641 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter worth about $12,869,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE:SCL opened at $83.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.58 and a beta of 0.83. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $96.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.41 and a 200-day moving average of $88.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $575.83 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The business’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Stepan’s payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

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.