UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Trims Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,064 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $3,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the second quarter worth about $679,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the second quarter worth about $123,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Stepan by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 325,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,324,000 after buying an additional 6,542 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Stock Down 1.9 %

SCL stock opened at $74.08 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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