Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Stepan Price Performance

NYSE:SCL opened at $62.76 on Thursday. Stepan has a one year low of $59.55 and a one year high of $94.76. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 76,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,834 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 63,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 12,312 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,634,000 after acquiring an additional 60,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.