Stepan Company Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:SCL)

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.395 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

Stepan has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 57 years. Stepan has a payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Stepan to earn $4.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.0%.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $53.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.74. Stepan has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $68.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $553.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $570.60 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 3.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Stepan Company Profile

Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.

Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.