Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 24.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,869,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Stepan by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $113,568,000 after acquiring an additional 31,641 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 36.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Stepan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,562,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $242,306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,038 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE SCL opened at $74.47 on Tuesday. Stepan has a 52-week low of $63.60 and a 52-week high of $96.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.86 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $556.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 1.58%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.36%.

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.