Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Stepan Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE SCL opened at $77.15 on Friday. Stepan has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $96.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.38 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.62%.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 49.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Stepan by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Stepan during the 1st quarter valued at about $725,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Stepan by 324.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.