Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 94,805 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.18% of Westlake worth $25,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $112.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.79, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $104.74 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.87%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

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.