Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.39 Per Share

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.385 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Stepan has raised its dividend by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 57 years. Stepan has a dividend payout ratio of 39.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Stepan to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.7%.

Stepan Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE SCL opened at $75.87 on Wednesday. Stepan has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $96.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.81.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 17th.

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.