Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $66.19 and last traded at $66.82, with a volume of 110184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th.

Stepan Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Stepan by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 2.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 3,053.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.