CenterBook Partners LP Has $1.59 Million Position in Stepan Company $SCL

CenterBook Partners LP reduced its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 67,117 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Stepan were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 6.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,599,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,276,000 after acquiring an additional 91,746 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 900,377 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,642,000 after acquiring an additional 205,157 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 8.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 586,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,975,000 after acquiring an additional 45,520 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Stepan by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,207,000 after acquiring an additional 198,457 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SCL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research lowered Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Stepan presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Stepan Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $52.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.65 and a beta of 0.96. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $68.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.32.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $604.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.25 million. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 2.65% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.395 dividend. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Stepan’s payout ratio is -254.84%.

Stepan Company 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.