Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NYSE, rising to highs of US$65.59 and falling to the lows of US$45.26. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Stepan's current trading price of US$48.61 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Stepan’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

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What Is Stepan Worth?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Stepan’s ratio of 21.77x is trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 18.19x, which means if you buy Stepan today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Stepan should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Furthermore, Stepan’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

Check out our latest analysis for Stepan

What kind of growth will Stepan generate?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. Stepan's earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 97%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? SCL’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at SCL? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on SCL, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for SCL, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. While conducting our analysis, we found that Stepan has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.