Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Posted by MarketBeat News on May 24th, 2023

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Rating) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,458 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,682 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Stepan by 2,869.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Stepan by 74.6% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Stepan in the second quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Stepan by 55.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Stepan by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SCL shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Stepan in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. TheStreet cut Stepan from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th.

Insider Activity at Stepan

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In related news, CEO Scott R. Behrens sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $179,820.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,146,891.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Scott R. Behrens sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $179,820.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,891.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Finn Stepan sold 479 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $50,323.74. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 188,326 shares in the company, valued at $19,785,529.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,634 shares of company stock valued at $246,428 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $97.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Stepan has a 12-month low of $87.11 and a 12-month high of $116.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.97 and its 200 day moving average is $103.63.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $651.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.73 million. Stepan had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 28.40%.

About Stepan

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Stepan Co engages in the manufacture and sale of specialty and intermediate chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers a range of surfactant chemicals such as anionic, cationic, nonionic, and amphoteric surfactants.