I checked the chemical list here. It says that stearic acid is "hungry" for oxygen, so it seems to be a powerful fuel, although "cool" in temperature. It's pretty common in many old blue compositions and in some green.
Stearin is like the hexamine of old times. It functions in similar ways of cooling the flame and expanding the flame envelope. Some feel more comfortable using stearin with chlorate stars instead of hexamine due to the worry for hydrolysis to various methylamines (fishy odor). It also lubricates stars and can make them easier to pump.