Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases 9,213 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,213 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Stepan were worth $5,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stepan in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the second quarter worth $123,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:SCL opened at $73.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.63. Stepan has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $96.68. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.385 dividend. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Stepan’s payout ratio is presently 76.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th.

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.