American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,943 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.00% of Stepan worth $29,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Stepan by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Stepan by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth about $161,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth about $168,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the third quarter worth about $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $55.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 0.82. Stepan has a 12-month low of $54.89 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan 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.