O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Grows Position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,486 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the quarter. Stepan accounts for approximately 1.3% of O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. owned about 0.28% of Stepan worth $4,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 19.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,031,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Stepan by 177.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after acquiring an additional 28,655 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Stepan by 14.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 72,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 9,213 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 Tuesday.

Stepan Trading Up 0.3 %

SCL opened at $63.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.48 and a 200-day moving average of $75.35. Stepan has a 52 week low of $59.70 and a 52 week high of $95.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 76.62%.

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.