FY2024 EPS Estimates for Stepan Raised by Seaport Res Ptn

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Stepan in a report issued on Monday, November 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.60 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.03. The consensus estimate for Stepan’s current full-year earnings is $2.54 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.38. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.56% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm had revenue of $546.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

Stepan Price Performance

Stepan stock opened at $74.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.18 and a beta of 0.81. Stepan has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $96.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stepan

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 924.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 82,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,404,000 after purchasing an additional 74,809 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Stepan by 409.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 92,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,111,000 after buying an additional 73,976 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Stepan by 51.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 211,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,741,000 after buying an additional 71,431 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Stepan by 7.6% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 747,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,730,000 after buying an additional 52,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Stepan by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,279,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,421,000 after buying an additional 34,264 shares in the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.