Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $57.07 and traded as high as $62.22. Stepan shares last traded at $62.0950, with a volume of 97,167 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Stepan in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stepan currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Stepan Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -516.21 and a beta of 0.94.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.85 million. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 3.90% and a negative net margin of 0.11%. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.3950 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,316.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stepan during the second quarter valued at approximately $192,698,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Stepan during the second quarter worth $6,836,000. Towle & Co. purchased a new stake in Stepan during the first quarter worth $5,295,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Stepan by 465.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 123,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,188,000 after acquiring an additional 101,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Stepan by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 174,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 96,823 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

About Stepan

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals. The company produces surfactants, polymers and specialty products used in a broad range of consumer and industrial applications, including household and institutional cleaning, personal care, agriculture, food, construction, automotive, coatings and insulation.

Stepan’s surfactants are used as cleaning agents, emulsifiers, dispersants and wetting agents in products such as detergents, shampoos, agricultural formulations and industrial cleaners.