SummerHaven Investment Management LLC Invests $681,000 in Stepan Company $SCL

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Stepan as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCL. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Stepan by 6.7% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,336,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,966,000 after buying an additional 83,941 shares in the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 143,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,825,000 after buying an additional 8,350 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Stepan by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 540,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,525,000 after acquiring an additional 46,824 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $378,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE:SCL opened at $56.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.68. Stepan Company has a 1-year low of $41.82 and a 1-year high of $64.82.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.12. Stepan had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 3.70%. The firm had revenue of $590.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $593.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Stepan Company will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Stepan in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stepan presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

About Stepan

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.