Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.08% of Stepan worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 177.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,460,000 after acquiring an additional 28,655 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 19.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,031,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Stepan by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Stepan Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $58.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $56.50 and a fifty-two week high of $94.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.42 and a 200 day moving average of $70.36.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

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.