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Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Westlake worth $63,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $46,630,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 348.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 283,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 525.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,766,000 after purchasing an additional 233,838 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Westlake Trading Up 3.1 %
Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $89.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 126.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $81.41 and a 12-month high of $161.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.94.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Westlake Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.15.
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.
Further Reading
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