Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Shares Purchased by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 921,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,985 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Stepan were worth $59,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan by 781.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Stepan by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Stepan during the 4th quarter worth $239,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stepan by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stepan in the 4th quarter worth $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan Lewis acquired 500 shares of Stepan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.53 per share, with a total value of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,452.88. This represents a 35.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Stepan Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE SCL opened at $56.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.59 and its 200-day moving average is $62.27. Stepan has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 1.00.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.33. Stepan had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 4.21%. The firm had revenue of $593.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Stepan will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

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.