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

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of 0.395 per share by the basic materials company on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

Stepan has raised its dividend 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 dividend payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Stepan to earn $3.92 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 40.3%.

Stepan Price Performance

SCL traded up $8.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.19. 465,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,973. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.62. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.76 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stepan has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $68.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.57. Stepan had a positive return on equity of 2.65% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.The firm had revenue of $684.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Stepan from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Stepan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stepan has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

About Stepan

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.