Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Bought by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 110.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Stepan were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.6% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in 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. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.8% during 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 during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% during 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. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,951,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $62.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a twelve month low of $61.89 and a twelve month high of $95.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.39.

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

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.62%.

About Stepan

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.