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

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors 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 yield of 2.02%. 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 increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 57 consecutive years. Stepan has a payout ratio of 39.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Stock Performance

Shares of SCL opened at $76.07 on Thursday. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.66.

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. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Stepan will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.