SCL Stock Analysis: Stepan | NYSE

Surfactants, Polyurethane Polyols, Polyester Resins, Phthalic Anhydride

Total Rating 56

Safety 83

Buy Signal 0.19

Specialty Chemicals
Industry Rotation: +1.7

Market Cap: 1.48B
Avg Turnover: 8.36M

Risk 3d forecast

Volatility31.7%

VaR 5^th Pctl5.24%

VaR vs Median0.47%

Reward TTM

Sharpe Ratio0.83

Rel. Str. IBD80.1

Rel. Str. Peer Group78.2

Character TTM

Beta0.630

Beta Downside0.713

Hurst Exponent0.567

Drawdowns 3y

Max DD54.02%

CAGR/Max DD-0.14

CAGR/Mean DD-0.27

EPS (Earnings per Share)

EPS CAGR: -9.11%
EPS Trend: -54.6%

Last SUE: 1.76
Qual. Beats: 1

Revenue

Rev. CAGR: 1.12%
Rev. Trend: 26.4%

Last SUE: 2.19
Qual. Beats: 1

Warnings

High Debt While Negative Cash Flow

Below Avwap Earnings

Tailwinds

Supp Ema20

Seasonality 11.6 years of data

Jan -4.8% 32

Feb -0.3% 10

Mar +0.2% 2

Apr +0.4% 14

May +2.8% 36

Jun +2.9% 9

Jul +7.0% 35

Aug -1.4% 27

Sep -3.3% 47

Oct -2.6% 13

Nov +5.5% 20

Dec +0.5% 2

How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.

Description: SCL Stepan

Stepan Company (NYSE: SCL) is a U.S.-based specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. The company produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals on a business-to-business basis to other manufacturers, supplying customers in the United States, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, and other international markets.

The company operates through three reportable segments. The Surfactants segment supplies cleaning and disinfection ingredients used in household detergents, personal care products, agricultural emulsifiers, and industrial applications. The Polymers segment produces polyurethane polyols for rigid foam insulation used in construction, along with polyester resins, specialty polyols, and phthalic anhydride for coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers (CASE), and plasticizers. The Specialty Products segment provides flavors, emulsifiers, and solubilizers used in food, nutritional supplements, and pharmaceutical applications.

Stepan is classified within the GICS Materials sector under the Specialty Chemicals sub-industry and is considered a small-cap company with a market capitalization of approximately $1.2 billion USD. As a B2B specialty chemicals producer, its revenue is closely tied to downstream demand from consumer goods, construction, and food/pharmaceutical manufacturers rather than direct end-consumer sales.

Headlines to Watch Out For

Surfactant margins pressured by fatty acid and ethylene cost volatility
Polymer polyol demand tracks construction insulation and CASE end markets
Specialty flavor and emulsion revenue grows with food and pharmaceutical customers

Piotroski VR-10 (Strict) 3.0

Net Income: -2.65m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue
FCF/TA: -0.01 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA -4.50 > 1.0
NWC/Revenue: 5.25% < 20% (prev 10.30%; Δ -5.05% < -1%)
CFO/TA 0.07 > 3% & CFO 172.0m > Net Income -2.65m
Net Debt (638.7m) to EBITDA (159.6m): 4.00 < 3
Current Ratio: 1.15 > 1.5 & < 3
Outstanding Shares: last quarter (22.9m) vs 12m ago 0.03% < -2%
Gross Margin: 11.81% > 18% (prev 12.38%; Δ -0.56% > 0.5%)
Asset Turnover: 101.2% > 50% (prev 93.55%; Δ 7.63% > 0%)
Interest Coverage Ratio: 1.30 > 6 (EBIT TTM 30.2m / Interest Expense TTM 23.2m)

Altman Z'' 3.21

A: 0.05 (Total Current Assets 974.8m - Total Current Liabilities 847.0m) / Total Assets 2.39b
B: 0.52 (Retained Earnings 1.25b / Total Assets 2.39b)
C: 0.01 (EBIT TTM 30.2m / Avg Total Assets 2.40b)
D: 1.03 (Book Value of Equity 1.21b / Total Liabilities 1.18b)
Altman-Z'' = 3.21 = A

Beneish M -3.06

DSRI: 1.03 (Receivables 492.3m/442.2m, Revenue 2.43b/2.26b)
GMI: 1.05 (GM 12.38% / 11.81%)
AQI: 0.74 (AQ_t 0.09 / AQ_t-1 0.12)
SGI: 1.08 (Revenue 2.43b / 2.26b)
TATA: -0.07 (NI -2.65m - CFO 172.0m) / TA 2.39b)
Beneish M = -3.06 (Cap -4..+1) = AA

What is the price of SCL shares?

As of August 23, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 63.63 with a total of 99,409 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -2.36%, over one month by +8.58%, over three months by +24.73% and over the past year by +31.89%.

Current recommended Stop Loss: 59.40 (which is 6.6% or 2.4 ATR below the current price).

Is SCL a buy, sell or hold?

Stepan has received a consensus analysts rating of 3.50. Therefore, it is recommended to hold SCL.

StrongBuy: 0
Buy: 1
Hold: 1
Sell: 0
StrongSell: 0

What are the forecasts/targets for the SCL price?

Analysts Target Price	85	33.6%

Stepan (SCL) - Fundamental Data Overview as of 23 August 2026

Market Cap USD = 1.48b (1.48b USD * 1.0 USD.USD)
P/E Forward = 26.455
P/S = 0.6095
P/B = 1.2165
P/EG = 1.747
Revenue TTM = 2.43b USD
EBIT TTM = 30.2m USD
EBITDA TTM = 159.6m USD
Long Term Debt = 244.1m USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 418.3m USD (from shortTermDebt, last quarter)
Debt = 752.4m USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter) + Leases 45.0m
Net Debt = 638.7m USD (calculated: Debt 752.4m - CCE 113.7m)
Enterprise Value = 2.12b USD (1.48b + Debt 752.4m - CCE 113.7m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 1.30 (Ebit TTM 30.2m / Interest Expense TTM 23.2m)
EV/FCF = -62.68x (Enterprise Value 2.12b / FCF TTM -33.8m)
FCF Yield = -1.60% (FCF TTM -33.8m / Enterprise Value 2.12b)
FCF Margin = -1.39% (FCF TTM -33.8m / Revenue TTM 2.43b)
Net Margin = -0.11% (Net Income TTM -2.65m / Revenue TTM 2.43b)
Gross Margin = 11.81% ((Revenue TTM 2.43b - Cost of Revenue TTM 2.15b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 14.61% (prev 10.73%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 0.89 (Enterprise Value 2.12b / Total Assets 2.39b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 3.08% (Interest Expense 23.2m / Debt 752.4m)
Taxrate = 29.61% (9.64m / 32.5m)
NOPAT = 21.2m (EBIT 30.2m * (1 - 29.61%))
Current Ratio = 1.15 (Total Current Assets 974.8m / Total Current Liabilities 847.0m)
Debt / Equity = 0.62 (Debt 752.4m / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 1.21b)
Debt / EBITDA = 4.00 (Net Debt 638.7m / EBITDA 159.6m)
Debt / FCF = -18.87 (negative FCF - burning cash) (Net Debt 638.7m / FCF TTM -33.8m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 1.22b (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = -0.11% (Net Income -2.65m / Total Assets 2.39b)
RoE = -0.22% (Net Income TTM -2.65m / Total Stockholder Equity 1.22b)
RoCE = 2.06% (EBIT 30.2m / Capital Employed (Equity 1.22b + L.T.Debt 244.1m))
RoIC = 1.15% (NOPAT 21.2m / Invested Capital 1.85b)
WACC = 6.17% (E(1.48b)/V(2.24b) * Re(8.20%) + D(752.4m)/V(2.24b) * Rd(3.08%) * (1-Tc(0.30)))
Discount Rate = 8.20% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: -85.53 | Cagr: -0.11%
[DCF] Fair Price = unknown (Cash Flow -33.8m)
EPS Correlation: -54.58 | EPS CAGR: -9.11% | SUE: 1.76 | # QB: 1
Revenue Correlation: 26.39 | Revenue CAGR: 1.12% | SUE: 2.19 | # QB: 1
EPS current Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.72 | Chg30d=-22.04% | Revisions=-25% | Analysts=2
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=2.69 | Chg30d=+6.11% | Revisions=-25% | GrowthEPS=+47.8% | GrowthRev=+8.6%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=3.69 | Chg30d=-5.75% | Revisions=+0% | GrowthEPS=+37.2% | GrowthRev=+5.9%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: -29% (up=1, down=3)