Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Invests $205,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $15,295,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 40.3% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,410 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock opened at $127.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 179.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.67.

About Westlake

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.