Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SCL. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Stepan in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Stepan in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stepan presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Stepan Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of SCL opened at $69.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 367.51 and a beta of 0.94. Stepan has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $70.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.79.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $692.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.30 million. Stepan had a net margin of 0.17% and a return on equity of 4.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.4050 per share. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3950. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Stepan’s payout ratio 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 stake in Stepan during the second quarter valued at about $192,698,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Stepan by 124.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 174,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 96,823 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stepan by 31.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 171,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 41,244 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 33.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 143,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,182,000 after purchasing an additional 36,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 465.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 123,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,188,000 after buying an additional 101,907 shares during 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. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company develops products used by manufacturers in consumer and industrial markets.

Stepan’s principal products include surfactants, which are used in detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, agricultural formulations and other applications. The company also produces polyurethane polyols, phthalic anhydride and other specialty chemicals used in insulation, construction materials, coatings, plastics, food packaging and related industrial products.

Stepan serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia through a network of manufacturing facilities, research and development operations, and sales organizations.