Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Posted by on May 15th, 2023

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,926 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $746,000. State of Michigan Retirement System purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $1,015,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in Westlake by 282.3% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 37,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after buying an additional 27,947 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.79% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.9 %

Westlake stock opened at $114.47 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.67. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.24. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $81.29 and a 52-week high of $137.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 12.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. Analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.357 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Westlake from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Westlake from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Westlake from $119.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Westlake from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.00.

Westlake Profile

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Westlake Corp. Is a global diversified industrial company, which engages in the manufacturing and supplying of essential products. It operates through the Performance and Essential Materials, and Housing and Infrastructure Products segments. The Performance and Essential Materials segment includes Westlake North American Vinyls, Westlake North American Chlor-alkali and Derivatives, Westlake European and Asian Chlorovinyls, Westlake Olefins, Westlake Polyethylene, and Westlake Epoxy.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

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