Stepan Company $SCL Shares Sold by Southernsun Asset Management LLC

Southernsun Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 378,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 28,968 shares during the period. Stepan comprises 2.7% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned about 1.67% of Stepan worth $18,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Stepan by 166.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 29,017 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.2% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,354,000 after buying an additional 47,075 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter valued at $623,000. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 139,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,948,000 after acquiring an additional 9,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter worth $850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Stock Up 1.5%

SCL stock opened at $58.57 on Wednesday. Stepan Company has a 52-week low of $41.82 and a 52-week high of $68.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.47 and a beta of 0.95.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.06. Stepan had a negative net margin of 0.61% and a positive return on equity of 2.65%. The business had revenue of $604.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently -254.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SCL. Zacks Research upgraded Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stepan currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Company Profile

Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.

Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.