Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 24,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,562,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 33.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 4,741 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Stepan by 201.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 5,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Stepan by 2.3% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 76.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. TheStreet cut shares of Stepan from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 17th.
Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan
In other news, VP Arthur W. Mergner sold 3,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.34, for a total transaction of $372,146.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 27,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,577,677.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Arthur W. Mergner sold 1,996 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total value of $196,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 27,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,896.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Arthur W. Mergner sold 3,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.34, for a total transaction of $372,146.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 27,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,577,677.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Stepan Stock Performance
Shares of SCL stock opened at $94.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 52-week low of $87.11 and a 52-week high of $116.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.64). The company had revenue of $580.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.85 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 3.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.
Stepan Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 42.57%.
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 as principal ingredients 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.
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