Creative Planning Trims Stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Creative Planning trimmed its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Stepan were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Stepan by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter valued at about $725,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 324.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Stepan Stock Up 9.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $81.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.57. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 0.81.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.63%.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In related news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at $75,387.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.