Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $2,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 2.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Stepan by 1.9% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 5.6% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th.

Stepan Stock Up 0.1 %

Stepan stock opened at $76.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.64. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 74.63%.

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.