Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,103 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Westlake were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 13.2 %

WLK stock opened at $80.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.45. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.85, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $78.51 and a 12-month high of $161.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.25.

Westlake Company 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.