Stepan Company (SCL) will raise its quarterly dividend by 11.1 percent to $0.25 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. This marks the 51st consecutive year of dividend increases by the specialty chemicals company and brings the average 5 year annual dividend growth rate to exactly 8.0%.

The increased dividend is payable on December 14, 2018, to common stockholders of record on November 30, 2018. Last year Stepan hiked its dividend by 9.8 percent to 23 cents quarterly per share.

The new annual dividend of $1.00 per share yields 1.2 percent at a stock price of $82.35.

Stepan Company and its subsidiaries produce specialty and intermediate chemicals, which are sold to other manufacturers and used in a variety of end products. The Company has three reportable segments: Surfactants, Polymers and Specialty Products. Surfactants are the basic cleaning agent in detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, fine fabrics, floors and walls and are also used in personal care products and commercial and industrial applications. Polymers are used in the manufacture of construction materials, coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) applications. Specialty Products are chemicals used in food, flavoring, nutritional supplement and pharmaceutical applications. Stepan, headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, operates production facilities located in North and South America, Europe and Asia.