Barclays PLC Increases Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 177.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 28,655 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $3,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Stepan during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Stepan by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $66.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 1-year low of $66.19 and a 1-year high of $96.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.02.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 17th.

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.