Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,121 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in Westlake by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,147,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $139.34 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. 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 cap of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 70.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.20.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLK. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.92.

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.