Burney Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Burney Co. reduced its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCL. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Stepan by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Stepan by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 4,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 191.3% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 3,482 shares in the last quarter. 79.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director Randall S. Dearth sold 590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $51,442.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $890,209.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $80.86 on Friday. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $114.97. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.93.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $562.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $603.73 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Stepan’s payout ratio is currently 64.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SCL. CL King raised Stepan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th.

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 as principal ingredients 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.