ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL – Free Report) by 31.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 171,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,244 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $10,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCL. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Stepan in the third quarter worth $405,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 41,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 49,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 37,542 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.
Stepan Stock Performance
SCL opened at $68.77 on Wednesday. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $41.82 and a 1-year high of $72.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 361.93 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $692.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.30 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.81% and a net margin of 0.17%. Stepan’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Stepan Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.4050 dividend. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3950. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 831.58%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Stepan in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Stepan in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Stepan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stepan presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.
About Stepan
Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company develops products used by manufacturers in consumer and industrial markets.
Stepan’s principal products include surfactants, which are used in detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, agricultural formulations and other applications. The company also produces polyurethane polyols, phthalic anhydride and other specialty chemicals used in insulation, construction materials, coatings, plastics, food packaging and related industrial products.
Stepan serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia through a network of manufacturing facilities, research and development operations, and sales organizations.
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