Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Holdings Lifted by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 3,053.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $40,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Stepan by 229.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 8,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,869,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 323,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,592,000 after purchasing an additional 25,570 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Stepan during the first quarter worth approximately $648,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 36.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 70,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 18,733 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In related news, VP David Kabbes purchased 1,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $77.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.42. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $96.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.73 and a beta of 0.80.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.26). Stepan had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 90.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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.