Scientech Research LLC Takes $417,000 Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $203,924,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Westlake by 17.4% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,348,000 after purchasing an additional 33,100 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $25,154,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after buying an additional 145,673 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 0.0 %

Westlake stock opened at $150.09 on Monday. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.48 and a 200 day moving average of $148.74. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 75.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WLK. Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

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.