State of Alaska Department of Revenue Decreases Stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.05% of Stepan worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,639,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Stepan by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 62,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,021,000 after buying an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Stepan by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 3,390 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Stepan by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 321,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,794,000 after buying an additional 23,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 403,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,100,000 after buying an additional 29,179 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $55.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.02. Stepan Company has a fifty-two week low of $44.23 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 4.61% and a net margin of 2.53%. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.