Seeyond lessened its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,453 shares during the quarter. Seeyond’s holdings in Westlake were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 12,680.0% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 639 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 734 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 26.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. 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. Bank of America cut Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $119.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.00.
Westlake Trading Down 0.9 %
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $1.00. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.
Westlake Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.357 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.83%.
Westlake Profile
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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