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

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,328 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Westlake were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth about $43,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $138.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.31. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

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.