Federated Hermes Inc. Has $26.89 Million Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 192,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 216,188 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $26,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 189.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $99,029,000 after acquiring an additional 524,828 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 959.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 554,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 501,774 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 493,432 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $31,719,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the first quarter worth about $30,261,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLK. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $150.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.38.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during 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%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.