Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) by 119.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 65,099 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.53% of Stepan worth $9,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Stepan by 101.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC raised its position in Stepan by 1.8% in the first quarter. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Stepan by 16.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 84,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 11,875 shares during the period. Personal Capital Advisors Corp raised its position in Stepan by 7.2% in the first quarter. Personal Capital Advisors Corp now owns 145,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,326,000 after buying an additional 9,850 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Stepan by 1.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.95% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) opened at 79.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.71 and its 200 day moving average is $82.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.26. Stepan Company has a 12 month low of $66.17 and a 12 month high of $92.97.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $495.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.35 million. Stepan had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 14.95%. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Stepan Company will post $4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.52%.

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A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 10th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Wellington Shields lowered shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Stepan from $40.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Stepan Company Profile

Stepan Company produces specialty and intermediate chemicals, which are sold to other manufacturers and used in a range of end products. The Company operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers and Specialty Products. The Company’s principal markets include manufacturers of cleaning and washing compounds (including detergents, shampoos, fabric softeners, toothpastes and household cleaners), paints, cosmetics, food, beverages, nutritional supplements, agricultural products and plastics.