Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $90.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.18. Stepan has a twelve month low of $63.60 and a twelve month high of $104.43.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $532.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.48 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.73% and a return on equity of 4.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stepan

In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total transaction of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 250,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940 in the last quarter. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,562,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,306,000 after purchasing an additional 14,038 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 78,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 11,642 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.