Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases 1,900 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 26.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Westlake by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after buying an additional 675,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $50,961,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $25,154,000. Natixis raised its stake in Westlake by 41,979.2% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 85,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,988,000 after buying an additional 84,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Westlake by 460.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after purchasing an additional 69,838 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 0.6 %

WLK opened at $145.21 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 72.97, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.