D.A. Davidson & CO. Invests $378,000 in Stepan Company $SCL

D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,252,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,960,000 after purchasing an additional 331,210 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,971,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,197,000 after purchasing an additional 43,006 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Stepan by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 426,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,470,000 after acquiring an additional 23,022 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in Stepan by 140.4% in the 1st quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 14,972 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SCL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Stepan Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of SCL stock opened at $42.89 on Friday. Stepan Company has a 1 year low of $42.80 and a 1 year high of $82.08. The stock has a market cap of $970.17 million, a PE ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.98 and its 200-day moving average is $51.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $590.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $593.65 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 3.70% and a net margin of 1.96%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.395 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is 60.63%.

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.