Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33, Zacks reports. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Stepan's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $51.20. The company had a trading volume of 62,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,155. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.38 and a 200-day moving average of $64.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.97. Stepan has a 12 month low of $44.23 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.68%.

Insider Activity at Stepan

In related news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. The trade was a 35.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Stepan Company Profile

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.

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