Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Stepan Company $SCL

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 17,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,682,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 174,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 96,823 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,354,000 after acquiring an additional 47,075 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,302,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the first quarter valued at $850,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Stepan in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE:SCL opened at $61.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.39 and its 200 day moving average is $54.93. Stepan Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.82 and a fifty-two week high of $68.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -512.42 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $684.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.85 million. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.Stepan’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.395 dividend. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,316.67%.

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.