Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Position Raised by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Stepan by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Stepan by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 20,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stepan news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $57.18 on Friday. Stepan has a 52-week low of $56.20 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.67.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%.

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 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.