Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in Stepan by 0.5% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 18,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 4.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Stepan by 3.1% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 3,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940 in the last quarter. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL opened at $82.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.89 and a beta of 0.83. Stepan has a 1 year low of $63.60 and a 1 year high of $100.61.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $532.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.48 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

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.