Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. reduced its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Stepan by 226.5% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC grew its position in shares of Stepan by 86.7% during the second quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Stepan by 306.6% during the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the second quarter worth about $99,000. 79.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $80.86 on Friday. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $114.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Stepan Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCL shares. CL King upgraded Stepan from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. StockNews.com cut Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Randall S. Dearth sold 590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $51,442.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $890,209.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Stepan

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.