Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,671 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Stepan worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 177.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 28,655 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Stepan by 19.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 23,626 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Stepan by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,777 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Stepan by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,328,000 after acquiring an additional 17,530 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Stepan by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stepan Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $62.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $59.55 and a fifty-two week high of $94.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.99 and a 200 day moving average of $71.32.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $520.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

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.