Empowered Funds LLC Has $8.71 Million Stock Holdings in Stepan Company $SCL

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 124.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,823 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $8,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.2% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,354,000 after purchasing an additional 47,075 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 477,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after purchasing an additional 23,097 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 198,457 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Stepan by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 285,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,541,000 after buying an additional 76,711 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $64.96 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of -541.36 and a beta of 0.94. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $68.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.09 and a 200 day moving average of $54.74.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.85 million. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,316.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.