Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,731 Shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Stepan worth $5,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY grew its position in Stepan by 11.4% in the first quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 135,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,431,000 after acquiring an additional 13,866 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in Stepan in the first quarter worth $273,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 225.9% in the first quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,990 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 15,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 7.0% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 66,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 4,352 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th.

Stepan Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SCL opened at $56.75 on Thursday. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $593.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.77 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 4.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Stepan Profile

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.