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

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $62.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 112,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,724. Stepan has a fifty-two week low of $59.55 and a fifty-two week high of $94.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $63.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

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Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter valued at $7,545,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,311,000 after purchasing an additional 108,556 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Stepan by 924.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 82,901 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,404,000 after buying an additional 74,809 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC increased its position in Stepan by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 383,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,824,000 after acquiring an additional 74,238 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Stepan by 409.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,053 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,111,000 after purchasing an additional 73,976 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.