Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 5,072 Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the second quarter valued at $679,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth $1,195,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 7,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 8,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL opened at $75.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40 and a beta of 0.82.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.62%.

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.