Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 14,038 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,562,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,038 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.45% of Stepan worth $242,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Stepan by 2,141.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Stepan during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stepan Trading Down 1.4 %

SCL opened at $82.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.86 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $96.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

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.