Horizon Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 13,157 Stepan Company $SCL

Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,000. Horizon Investments LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Stepan at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 206.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:SCL opened at $52.94 on Friday. Stepan Company has a one year low of $41.82 and a one year high of $68.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.38 and a beta of 0.95.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Stepan Company will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.395 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Stepan’s payout ratio is presently -254.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Stepan from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

Stepan 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.