Pictet Asset Management SA grew its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management SA’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 136,136 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,789,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 86.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 477,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,360,000 after buying an additional 220,791 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $412,000. Institutional investors own 29.44% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have commented on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Westlake from $129.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Westlake from $125.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Westlake from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.67.
Insider Activity at Westlake
In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,000 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $131,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,388. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Westlake Trading Up 1.2 %
Shares of Westlake stock opened at $131.25 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $81.29 and a 12-month high of $138.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.28.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business’s revenue was down 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.60 EPS. Analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 8.82 EPS for the current year.
Westlake Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.357 per share. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.95%.
About Westlake
Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.
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