Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 73,976 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 409.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 73,976 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.41% of Stepan worth $7,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Stepan during the third quarter worth $48,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Stepan during the second quarter valued at $59,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan in the second quarter valued at $123,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of SCL opened at $74.28 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 76.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th.

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.