Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 3,330.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 145,673 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.12% of Westlake worth $23,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $101,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Westlake Stock Up 0.0 %

WLK stock opened at $150.09 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.48 and a 200-day moving average of $148.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 75.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.53%.

Westlake Company 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.