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

Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.94 and last traded at $47.60, with a volume of 176312 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Trading Up 9.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $58.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.85.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $525.60 million during 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 was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter worth $7,545,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,311,000 after purchasing an additional 108,556 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 383,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,824,000 after purchasing an additional 74,238 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,634,000 after purchasing an additional 60,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Stepan by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,188,000 after buying an additional 54,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.