Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Bought by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,721 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Westlake were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $122,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Down 1.2 %

Westlake stock opened at $144.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 72.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.43. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

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.