Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $69.26 and last traded at $69.57, with a volume of 49270 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stepan Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Stepan by 2.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

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.