Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $59.54 and last traded at $59.74, with a volume of 37190 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Stock Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $62.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.62.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stepan's dividend payout ratio is 69.68%.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other news, Director Susan Lewis bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Stepan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Stepan by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Stepan by 1.5% during 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. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stepan by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,634,000 after buying an additional 60,985 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Stepan by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,705,000 after buying an additional 17,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

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.