Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.41 Per Share

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4050 per share by the basic materials company on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a 2.5% increase from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3950.

Stepan has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 57 consecutive years. Stepan has a dividend payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Stepan to earn $3.69 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 42.8%.

Stepan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCL opened at $68.08 on Thursday. Stepan has a one year low of $41.82 and a one year high of $70.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -567.30 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.70.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $692.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.30 million. Stepan had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 3.90%. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Stepan by 194.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stepan in the 2nd quarter valued at $85,000. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Stepan

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company develops products used by manufacturers in consumer and industrial markets.

Stepan’s principal products include surfactants, which are used in detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, agricultural formulations and other applications. The company also produces polyurethane polyols, phthalic anhydride and other specialty chemicals used in insulation, construction materials, coatings, plastics, food packaging and related industrial products.

Stepan serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia through a network of manufacturing facilities, research and development operations, and sales organizations.