Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Stepan has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a change in analyst sentiment regarding the company's stock performance.
• Despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 6.9%, Stepan reported earnings of $0.52 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 EPS by $0.40.
• Approximately 82.70% of Stepan's stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating significant interest from large financial entities.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $49.82 on Friday. Stepan has a 12 month low of $44.23 and a 12 month high of $82.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.39.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $594.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Stepan's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Stepan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $165,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,841 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Stepan by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 176,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,391,000 after purchasing an additional 33,276 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Stepan during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,545,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Stepan by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares during the period. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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