Dean Investment Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC owned 0.06% of Stepan worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Stepan by 110.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 781.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stepan Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $47.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.32 and its 200 day moving average is $65.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan has a 52-week low of $44.23 and a 52-week high of $94.77. 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 (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Stepan

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.