Deutsche Bank AG Buys 6,719 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 51.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,719 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.09% of Stepan worth $1,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 781.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Stepan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $294,000. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL opened at $54.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.00. Stepan has a 12 month low of $44.23 and a 12 month 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.53.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday.

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.