Stepan Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NYSE:SCL)

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.385 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd.

Stepan has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 57 years. Stepan has a payout ratio of 32.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Stepan to earn $3.55 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 43.4%.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of Stepan stock traded up $1.41 on Thursday, reaching $63.94. 113,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,893. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.84. Stepan has a 1-year low of $59.55 and a 1-year high of $94.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $525.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Stepan will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

About Stepan

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.