Seaport Res Ptn Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Stepan

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) – Seaport Res Ptn increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Stepan in a research note issued on Monday, November 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $2.60 for the year, up from their prior forecast 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.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $546.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.23 million. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share.

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

Stepan Stock Down 0.9 %

Stepan stock opened at $76.41 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.16 and a 200 day moving average of $80.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $96.68. 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 Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.63%.

Institutional Trading of Stepan

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Stepan by 5.6% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Stepan by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Stepan by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.70% 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.