ProShare Advisors LLC Has $7.13 Million Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 7,861 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $7,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Stepan by 781.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stepan during the fourth quarter worth about $294,000. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Stepan Stock Up 1.5%

SCL stock opened at $56.12 on Monday. Stepan has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 1.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.60%.

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.