BlackRock Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,458,328 Stepan Company $SCL

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,458,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,698,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.15% of Stepan at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 206.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Stepan by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 700.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Stepan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Stepan in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Stepan currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SCL opened at $62.68 on Friday. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $41.82 and a 1 year high of $68.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -522.33 and a beta of 0.94.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.57. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The business had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.395 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,316.67%.

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.