Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 79.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Westlake by 55.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 19.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $149.55 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $103.28 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $147.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.18.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.