JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $17.07 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.09% of Westlake worth $17,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $110.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 154.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $108.95 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.03. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 295.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.92.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.