Stepan Company (SCL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 on March 13th

Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.395 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

Stepan has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year 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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Stepan to earn $4.79 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 33.0%.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $52.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61 and a beta of 1.05. Stepan has a 52 week low of $41.82 and a 52 week high of $68.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.77.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.37). Stepan had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $553.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $570.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stepan will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,599,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,276,000 after purchasing an additional 91,746 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stepan by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,336,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,966,000 after purchasing an additional 83,941 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Stepan by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 900,377 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,642,000 after buying an additional 205,157 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 8.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 586,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,975,000 after acquiring an additional 45,520 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stepan by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Stepan

Stepan Company is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, primarily known for its development and production of surfactants and related specialty products. The company’s portfolio includes a wide range of ingredients used to enhance the performance of consumer and industrial formulations, such as emulsifiers, foam control agents, odor control agents, antimicrobial products and performance additives. These products are integral components in cleaning solutions, personal care items, agrochemical formulations, coatings, oilfield treatments and polymer systems.

Serving a diverse set of end-markets, Stepan’s offerings address both consumer-facing and industrial applications.