Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Position Increased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Westlake were worth $9,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $577,344,000 after purchasing an additional 96,152 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $159,917,000 after purchasing an additional 66,614 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Westlake by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,129,000 after purchasing an additional 63,823 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Westlake by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 321,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 310,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,724,000 after purchasing an additional 17,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 0.2 %

Westlake stock opened at $149.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $103.28 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.05 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.79.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’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 owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.