David Kabbes Buys 1,056 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) VP David Kabbes purchased 1,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,387.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Stepan Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of Stepan stock traded up $3.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.60. 83,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,425. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.02 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 1-year low of $63.60 and a 1-year high of $96.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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). The business had revenue of $556.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.30 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 3.83%. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Stepan’s payout ratio is 90.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stepan by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Stepan by 1.9% in the second 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. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Stepan by 5.6% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Stepan by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in Stepan by 60.0% in the second quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.