State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Increases Stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned about 0.06% of Stepan worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCL. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 781.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 2.8 %

SCL stock opened at $54.90 on Friday. Stepan has a 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.54 and its 200 day moving average is $63.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 0.97.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.