Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Director Susan Lewis Acquires 500 Shares of Stock

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $61.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan has a twelve month low of $59.55 and a twelve month high of $94.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.02.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Stepan by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Stepan by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,634,000 after purchasing an additional 60,985 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,705,000 after purchasing an additional 17,283 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.