Stepan (SCL) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. Its surfactants are also used in various applications, including emulsifiers for spreading agricultural products; and industrial applications comprising latex systems, plastics, and composites. The Polymers segment provides polyurethane polyols that are used in the manufacture of rigid foam for thermal insulation in the construction industry, as well as a base raw material for coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE); polyester resins, including liquid and powdered products, which are used in CASE applications; and phthalic anhydride that is used in unsaturated polyester resins, alkyd resins, and plasticizers for applications in construction materials, as well as components of automotive, boating, and other consumer products. The Specialty Products segment offers flavors, emulsifiers, and solubilizers for use in food, flavoring, nutritional supplement, and pharmaceutical applications. Stepan Company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $49.62 to $50.35
• 50-Day Range: $48.50 to $59.83
• 52-Week Range: $44.23 to $82.08
• Volume: 148,328 shs
• Average Volume: 178,516 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.13 billion
• P/E Ratio: 19.75
• Dividend Yield: 3.07%
• Price Target: N/A
• Consensus Rating: Sell

Stepan Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Stepan scored higher than 89% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 22nd out of 189 stocks in the basic materials sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: N/A
• Analyst Rating: N/A

Consensus Rating

There is not enough analysis data for Stepan.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.8 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 34.93%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Stepan are expected to grow by 34.93% in the coming year, from $3.55 to $4.79 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Stepan is 19.75, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 270.81.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Stepan is 19.75, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Basic Materials sector average P/E ratio of about 146.01.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Stepan has a P/B Ratio of 0.91. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.93% of the float of Stepan has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Stepan has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Stepan has recently decreased by 0.24%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Stepan pays a meaningful dividend of 3.00%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Stepan has been increasing its dividend for 57 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Stepan is 60.63%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Stepan will have a dividend payout ratio of 32.15% next year. This indicates that Stepan will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Environmental Score: -4.18

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.93% of the float of Stepan has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Stepan has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Stepan has recently decreased by 0.24%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.29

News Sentiment

Stepan has a news sentiment score of 1.29. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.71 average news sentiment score of Basic Materials companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for Stepan this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

1 people have searched for SCL on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 1 people have added Stepan to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -75% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Stepan insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 6.90% of the stock of Stepan is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

82.70% of the stock of Stepan is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SCL Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SCL shares performed this year?

Stepan's stock was trading at $64.70 at the start of the year. Since then, SCL shares have decreased by 22.5% and is now trading at $50.1580.

How were Stepan's earnings last quarter?

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July, 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.40. The company's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Stepan have any subsidiaries?

Stepan subsidiaries include Nanjing Stepan Jinling Chemical Limited Liability Company, PBC Industria Quimica Ltda., Stepan Asia Pte. Ltd., Stepan Canada Inc., Stepan CDMX S. de R.L. de C.V., Stepan Chemical (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., Stepan Chemical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., and others.

Who are Stepan's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Stepan include Westwood Holdings Group Inc. (5.92%), Westwood Holdings Group Inc. (5.91%), First Trust Advisors LP (3.27%) and American Century Companies Inc. (2.39%). Insiders that own company stock include F Quinn Stepan Jr, Richard Finn Stepan, Arthur W Mergner, Scott R Behrens, Randall S Dearth, Susan Lewis and David Kabbes.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Stepan?

Shares of SCL stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Stepan own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Stepan investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Tesla (TSLA), Meta Platforms (META), Visa (V), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Home Depot (HD).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/13 Dividend: 5/30/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/13 Dividend: 5/30/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/13/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/30/2025
• Record date for 9/15 Dividend: 8/29/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/15 Dividend: 8/29/2025
• Today: 8/30/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/15/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/29/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Industry: CHEM - DIVERSIFD
• Sub-Industry: Specialty Chemicals
• Current Symbol: NYSE:SCL
• CIK: 94049
• Web: www.stepan.com
• Phone: (847) 446-7500
• Fax: 847-501-2100
• Employees: 2,396
• Year Founded: 1932

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.54
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 19.75
• Forward P/E Ratio: 14.13
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $50.37 million
• Net Margins: 2.57%
• Pretax Margin: 2.75%
• Return on Equity: 4.78%
• Return on Assets: 2.42%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.31
• Current Ratio: 1.35
• Quick Ratio: 0.86

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.18 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.52
• Cash Flow: $7.22 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.95
• Book Value: $54.90 per share
• Price / Book: 0.91

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 22,620,000
• Free Float: 21,055,000
• Market Cap: $1.13 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.98