Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $41.94 and last traded at $42.0450, with a volume of 62214 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Stepan Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.17 and its 200 day moving average is $51.53. The firm has a market cap of $966.43 million, a P/E ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.99.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $590.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $593.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.395 dividend. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,571,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $141,538,000 after acquiring an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $72,966,000 after acquiring an additional 83,941 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.5% in the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 695,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,162,000 after acquiring an additional 10,462 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 9.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 540,953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,525,000 after acquiring an additional 46,824 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 508,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,758,000 after acquiring an additional 9,207 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.