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 note published on Sunday morning.

Stepan Trading Up 0.1 %

Stepan stock opened at $75.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. This is an increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Stepan’s payout ratio is currently 74.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Stepan by 2.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Stepan by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Stepan by 2.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

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.