Susan Lewis Buys 500 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $61.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $59.55 and a fifty-two week high of $94.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.02.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 69.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Stepan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its position in Stepan by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 76,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,834 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 63,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,634,000 after acquiring an additional 60,985 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

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.