Seaport Res Ptn Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Stepan

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) – Seaport Res Ptn increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Stepan in a report issued on Monday, November 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.60 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.03. The consensus estimate for Stepan’s current full-year earnings is $2.09 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Stepan’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.17 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.71 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stepan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th.

Stepan Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SCL opened at $75.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74 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 50-day simple moving average of $75.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.23 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Stepan by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,279,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,421,000 after purchasing an additional 34,264 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stepan by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 747,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,730,000 after purchasing an additional 52,944 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 4.3% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 424,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,613,000 after acquiring an additional 17,361 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 374,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,908,000 after buying an additional 18,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 325,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,324,000 after acquiring an additional 6,542 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.385 dividend. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.63%.

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.