Numerai GP LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Stepan Company $SCL

Numerai GP LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 67.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,136 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC owned 0.29% of Stepan worth $3,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCL. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Stepan in the 1st quarter worth approximately $818,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Stepan by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 4.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 66,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 508,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,758,000 after purchasing an additional 9,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SCL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Stepan Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Stepan stock opened at $46.94 on Tuesday. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $68.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.24 and a 200 day moving average of $49.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.37). Stepan had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 2.01%.The business had revenue of $553.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.395 per share. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.07%.

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.