Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 10th, 2023

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) by 72.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 98,761 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,239,670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $332,196,000 after purchasing an additional 221,020 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,221,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,029,000 after purchasing an additional 150,636 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,012,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,820,000 after purchasing an additional 342,204 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 960,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $98,516,000 after purchasing an additional 138,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 4.5% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 830,404 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $81,396,000 after acquiring an additional 35,639 shares during the period. 26.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $111.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $81.29 and a 12-month high of $127.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $1.00. Westlake had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 23rd were paid a $0.357 dividend. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 22nd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WLK shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $122.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Tudor Pickering lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Westlake from $119.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Westlake Company 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.