Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 262 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,766 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Westlake were worth $1,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth $1,273,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $3,254,000. Comerica Bank grew its position in Westlake by 17.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $544,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $147.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a PE ratio of 74.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

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.