Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,073 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Stepan by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth approximately $1,195,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Stepan during the third quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Stepan by 924.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 82,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,404,000 after buying an additional 74,809 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 7,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 8,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% 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 report on Sunday.

Stepan Stock Down 1.5 %

SCL opened at $74.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.26 and a 200-day moving average of $80.21. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $96.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.63%.

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.