Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Director Buys $31,765.00 in Stock

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Stepan Stock Performance

SCL opened at $61.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.27 and a 200 day moving average of $70.96. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $59.55 and a fifty-two week high of $94.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The company had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Stepan by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Stepan by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,634,000 after buying an additional 60,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,705,000 after buying an additional 17,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

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.