Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Stepan Stock Down 1.3 %

SCL opened at $89.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.83 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Stepan has a one year low of $63.60 and a one year high of $96.68.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 2,141.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Stepan by 9,406.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 9,783 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Stepan by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 177,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,747,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,002,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stepan

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.