Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Stepan by 172.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 410,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,688,000 after acquiring an additional 260,016 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Stepan by 12.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,951,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $197,828,000 after acquiring an additional 221,795 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stepan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,622,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Stepan by 8.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,165,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,317,000 after acquiring an additional 162,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 3.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,733,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $368,951,000 after purchasing an additional 112,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL opened at $82.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.89 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.01. Stepan has a 1 year low of $63.60 and a 1 year high of $100.61.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $532.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.48 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. Stepan’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,029,142.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total transaction of $174,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock valued at $957,940 in the last three months. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.