PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 684 Shares of Stepan Company $SCL

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 684 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 145,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,433,000 after acquiring an additional 46,846 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Stepan by 781.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Stepan by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,688 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Stepan by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,705,000 after purchasing an additional 17,283 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Stepan Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of SCL opened at $49.4440 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.15. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $44.23 and a 1 year high of $82.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 4.78%. The business had revenue of $594.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.63%.

Stepan Company 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.