Stepan (SCL) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 31st

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.375 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Stepan has raised its dividend by an average of 9.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 56 consecutive years. Stepan has a payout ratio of 33.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Stepan to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.1%.

Stepan Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $83.95 on Thursday. Stepan has a 12-month low of $63.60 and a 12-month high of $100.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.57 and a beta of 0.84.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $551.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $575.83 million. Stepan had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total value of $174,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,916,602.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $455,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,274,486.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.43, for a total transaction of $174,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 250,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,916,602.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stepan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

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.