Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $61.89 and last traded at $62.28, with a volume of 75744 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th.

Stepan Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.39. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. Stepan's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.385 dividend. This is an increase from Stepan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Stepan by 177.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,460,000 after buying an additional 28,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stepan by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,195,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Stepan by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,195,187 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $92,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan by 409.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.