Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Stepan’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NYSE:SCL)

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Stepan in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $0.39 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.38. The consensus estimate for Stepan’s current full-year earnings is $2.50 per share.

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

Stepan Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SCL opened at $82.06 on Friday. Stepan has a 12 month low of $63.60 and a 12 month high of $100.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.04). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.20% and a net margin of 1.73%. The firm had revenue of $532.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Stepan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $174,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 250,676 shares in the company, valued at $21,916,602.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Stepan news, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 $21,916,602.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F Quinn Stepan, Jr. sold 3,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $327,730.07. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 255,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,029,142.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,637 shares of company stock worth $957,940. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stepan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Stepan in the third quarter valued at about $4,286,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Stepan during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,083,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Stepan by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 87,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,531,000 after acquiring an additional 33,421 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Stepan by 21.6% in the third quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 97,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,328,000 after purchasing an additional 17,350 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Stepan by 3.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 278,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,894,000 after buying an additional 8,199 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.