Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Position Lifted by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.09% of Stepan worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Stepan by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Stepan by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in Stepan by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Stepan by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kabbes acquired 1,056 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $75,387.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 28th.

Stepan Price Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $71.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.93. Stepan has a 52 week low of $63.60 and a 52 week high of $96.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.26). Stepan had a return on equity of 3.83% and a net margin of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $556.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.36%.

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.