Towle & Co. Invests $5.29 Million in Stepan Company $SCL

Towle & Co. bought a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 105,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,295,000. Stepan makes up 2.0% of Towle & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 166.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 29,017 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 47,075 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth about $623,000. Grace & White Inc. NY grew its position in Stepan by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 139,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,948,000 after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan in the first quarter valued at approximately $475,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Stock Down 2.3%

Stepan stock opened at $57.60 on Friday. Stepan Company has a 52 week low of $41.82 and a 52 week high of $68.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.91 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $604.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.25 million. Stepan had a negative net margin of 0.61% and a positive return on equity of 2.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCL shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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.