Raymond James & Associates Sells 4,468 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,468 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Westlake were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $145.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.47. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.83.

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.