Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $83.94 on Wednesday. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $63.60 and a fifty-two week high of $96.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57 and a beta of 0.83.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The firm had revenue of $551.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $575.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Stepan’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCL. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Stepan by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Stepan by 2.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 131,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,839,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Stepan by 3.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 278,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,894,000 after purchasing an additional 8,199 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in Stepan by 78.4% during the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 18,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,974 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Stepan by 5.0% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stepan Company 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.