Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 29,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Westlake worth $11,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew 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 purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in 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 during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $126.66 on Monday. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.32. The company has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

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.