Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,639 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,639 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $7,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 2.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 60.0% during the second 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. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL stock opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Stepan has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $96.68.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. Stepan’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.63%.

About Stepan

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.