Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Short Interest Update

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 350,900 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the October 15th total of 283,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 112,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Stepan by 924.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 82,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,404,000 after acquiring an additional 74,809 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 409.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,111,000 after acquiring an additional 73,976 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 211,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,741,000 after acquiring an additional 71,431 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 747,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Stepan by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,279,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,421,000 after acquiring an additional 34,264 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SCL traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.25. The stock had a trading volume of 18,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,310. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.63%.

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.