Creative Planning Purchases 250 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Creative Planning raised its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Westlake were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $101,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $144.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 72.46, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $143.97 and its 200 day moving average is $148.62. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $112.77 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

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.