Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 410 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Stepan in the third quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Stepan in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Stepan in the third quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Stepan by 176.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 7,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 4,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stepan news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade 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 can be accessed through this link. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $48.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 1 year low of $46.52 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

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.