The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $502,000 Investment in Stepan Company $SCL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth about $192,698,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Stepan by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,354,000 after acquiring an additional 47,075 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Stepan by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 477,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,612,000 after acquiring an additional 23,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 195.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,207,000 after purchasing an additional 198,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stepan Price Performance

Stepan stock opened at $63.56 on Monday. Stepan Company has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $68.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -529.67 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.395 per share. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,316.67%.

Stepan 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.