Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.47 Million Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WLK. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 189.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,029,000 after buying an additional 524,828 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 959.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 554,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,866,000 after buying an additional 501,774 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 420.1% in the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 610,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,851,000 after buying an additional 493,432 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $31,719,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at $30,261,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.79.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $153.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.45. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.