Stepan Company $SCL Shares Acquired by Penn Capital Management Company LLC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,896 shares during the quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Stepan were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,698,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,207,000 after acquiring an additional 198,457 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,836,000. Towle & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,295,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,573,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SCL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Stepan in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $62.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -520.33 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.04. Stepan Company has a 52 week low of $41.82 and a 52 week high of $68.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.85 million. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,316.67%.

Stepan Company Profile

Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.

Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.