Amundi Grows Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 196.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,712 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Stepan were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth $161,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE SCL opened at $58.69 on Thursday. Stepan has a 52 week low of $56.50 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 0.82.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’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 company posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.