Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 14.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Stepan were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 51.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 211,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,741,000 after purchasing an additional 71,431 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 7.6% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 747,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,730,000 after acquiring an additional 52,944 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Stepan by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,279,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,421,000 after acquiring an additional 34,264 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,013,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Stepan by 245.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 27,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 19,477 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Stepan news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL opened at $74.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.92. Stepan has a 1 year low of $64.14 and a 1 year high of $96.68.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.