Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.38 EPS

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38, Briefing.com reports. Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Stepan Stock Performance

Shares of SCL stock opened at $72.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $96.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.72.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Stepan’s payout ratio is 74.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Stepan

In other Stepan news, VP David Kabbes bought 1,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.39 per share, for a total transaction of $75,387.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,387.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

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.