702 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Acquired by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $800,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 19.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 112,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,276,000 after acquiring an additional 17,916 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 47.4% during the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 7,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Westlake by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $144.28 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.49. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.