Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Short Interest Down 37.2% in February

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 256,600 shares, a decrease of 37.2% from the January 31st total of 408,600 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 123,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Stepan by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stepan by 781.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Stepan by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth $161,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 3rd quarter worth $168,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $57.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. Stepan has a 52 week low of $57.00 and a 52 week high of $94.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s payout ratio is 69.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

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.