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

Key Points

• Stepan plans to raise its quarterly dividend 2.5% to $0.405 per share, payable December 15 to shareholders of record December 1. The increase brings the annualized dividend to $1.62 and the yield to approximately 2.4%.
• The company has increased its dividend for 57 consecutive years, with a current payout ratio of 38.2%, indicating the dividend is supported by earnings.
• Stepan’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: adjusted earnings were $0.94 per share versus the $0.73 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 17.3% year over year to $692.15 million.

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given 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 dividend 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 raised its dividend every year for the last 57 years. Stepan has a payout ratio of 38.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of -567.30 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Stepan has a 1-year low of $41.82 and a 1-year high of $70.00.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stepan during the 2nd quarter valued at $192,698,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stepan by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 947,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,354,000 after purchasing an additional 47,075 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 31.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 171,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 41,244 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Stepan by 124.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 174,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 96,823 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Stepan by 33.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 143,698 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,182,000 after purchasing an additional 36,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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