Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock Holdings Increased by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 74.7% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Stepan by 0.7% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,951,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Stepan by 48.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,013,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,279,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,421,000 after purchasing an additional 34,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 28th.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $75.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 45.70 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.69 and a 200-day moving average of $83.25. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 3.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.36%.

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.