Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $2.01 Million Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Cresset Asset Management LLC cut its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,524 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,787 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Westlake by 732.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $113,865,000 after buying an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,875,000 after purchasing an additional 299,597 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Westlake by 348.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,327,000 after purchasing an additional 283,100 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $80.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.38. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $76.97 and a 12 month high of $161.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.92.

Westlake 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.