Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday, August 3rd.
According to Zacks, “Stepan Company produces specialty and intermediate chemicals which are sold to other manufacturers and then made into a variety of end products. They have three reportable segments: surfactants, polymers and specialty products. “
SCL has been the subject of several other reports. BidaskClub cut shares of Stepan from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Wellington Shields cut shares of Stepan from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. National Bank Financial decreased their price target on shares of Stepan from $40.00 to $27.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 26th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Stepan from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities upgraded shares of Stepan from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $52.00.
Stepan (NYSE SCL) opened at 78.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $85.18 and its 200 day moving average is $82.12. Stepan has a 12 month low of $66.90 and a 12 month high of $92.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.26.
Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $495.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.35 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post $4.58 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 29th. Stepan’s payout ratio is presently 21.52%.
In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan sold 8,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.50, for a total transaction of $713,632.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 287,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,180,941. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 3.4% in the first quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 68,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,402,000 after buying an additional 2,284 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Stepan by 4.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 310,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,455,000 after buying an additional 13,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Stepan by 119.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 119,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after buying an additional 65,099 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Stepan by 101.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the first quarter valued at $2,356,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Stepan
Stepan Company produces specialty and intermediate chemicals, which are sold to other manufacturers and used in a range of end products. The Company operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers and Specialty Products. The Company’s principal markets include manufacturers of cleaning and washing compounds (including detergents, shampoos, fabric softeners, toothpastes and household cleaners), paints, cosmetics, food, beverages, nutritional supplements, agricultural products and plastics.
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