State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.12% of Stepan worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Stepan by 110.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Stepan by 43.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 24.8% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Stepan by 6.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Stock Up 1.5 %

Stepan stock opened at $63.42 on Wednesday. Stepan has a 12 month low of $59.55 and a 12 month high of $94.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%.

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.