Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 60,985 Shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stepan (NYSE:SCL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 921,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,985 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 4.10% of Stepan worth $59,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stepan by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,605 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $165,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,841 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Stepan by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Stepan by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 660,048 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,705,000 after buying an additional 17,283 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 638,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,311,000 after buying an additional 108,556 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Stepan by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,188,000 after buying an additional 54,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.70% of the company's stock.

Stepan Stock Performance

NYSE SCL traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $54.93. 130,747 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 121,662. The business's fifty day moving average price is $52.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 1.00. Stepan has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

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

Stepan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.385 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Stepan's payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan Lewis purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.53 per share, for a total transaction of $31,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,896 shares in the company, valued at $120,452.88. This trade represents a 35.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 17th.

Stepan 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.