Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Stepan were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in Stepan by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth $123,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $72.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.70. Stepan has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $96.68. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stepan news, VP David Kabbes purchased 1,056 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,387.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

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.