Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,721 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.47% of Stepan worth $9,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 0.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 323,931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,285,000 after buying an additional 2,742 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Stepan by 6.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $307,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Stepan in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SCL stock opened at $85.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $100.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.63 and a beta of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The business had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $575.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Stepan

In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $455,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,274,486.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $455,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly 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 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stepan Company Profile

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.