Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 19,477 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 245.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,477 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Stepan worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Stepan by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 93,200.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 9,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stepan in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,562,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,038 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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 Sunday, July 28th.

Stepan Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SCL stock opened at $76.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.70. Stepan has a 1 year low of $63.60 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.03 and a beta of 0.80.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $581.30 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 1.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s payout ratio is 90.36%.

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.