Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Stepan Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 50.58 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Stepan has a 12-month low of $63.60 and a 12-month high of $96.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.41 and a 200 day moving average of $88.12.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $575.83 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.04% and a net margin of 1.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Stepan’s payout ratio is currently 90.36%.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Stepan by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,948,000 after acquiring an additional 24,721 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Stepan by 229.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 8,870 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Stepan by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,201,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,568,000 after buying an additional 31,641 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,869,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.