Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $56.44 and last traded at $56.72, with a volume of 6067 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.12 and a 200-day moving average of $68.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.82.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.68%.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 177.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 28,655 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Stepan by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,031,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stepan by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 486,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,328,000 after buying an additional 17,530 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.