Stepan (NYSE:SCL) VP Buys $75,387.84 in Stock

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) VP David Kabbes acquired 1,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at $75,387.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Stepan Trading Up 1.5 %

Stepan stock opened at $75.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.46 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.94 and a 200-day moving average of $85.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 3.83%. Stepan’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 5,436.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 516,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,854,000 after acquiring an additional 507,371 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stepan during the fourth quarter worth about $12,869,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Stepan by 51.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 211,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,741,000 after purchasing an additional 71,431 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Stepan by 7.6% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 747,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,944 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Stepan during the fourth quarter worth about $4,883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 28th.

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.