Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Westlake were worth $4,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 89,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,500,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $1,260,000. Clarius Group LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $8,492,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Westlake by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $148.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $103.28 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.09.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Vertical Research cut 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 lifted their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.43.

Westlake Profile

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.