Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 331,210 Shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Stepan Company by 35.9% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 5.55% of the company valued at $68.96 million.
• Stepan Company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations by $0.40, while revenue increased by 6.9% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.385 per share, with a yield of 3.0%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 35.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,252,914 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 331,210 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 5.55% of Stepan worth $68,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCL. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,606 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Stepan by 2.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,057 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Stepan by 67.9% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Stepan by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Stepan by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 82.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Stepan from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd.

Stepan Stock Performance

SCL stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.93. 68,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,966. Stepan Company has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $82.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.40). Stepan had a return on equity of 4.78% and a net margin of 2.57%. The firm had revenue of $594.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stepan Company will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Stepan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

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.