Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Westlake by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Westlake by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $112.03 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $104.74 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $113.40 and its 200 day moving average is $127.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.07.

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.