AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 142,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Westlake worth $20,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Westlake by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 48,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,450,000 after buying an additional 14,228 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $255,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Westlake by 460.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,898,000 after acquiring an additional 69,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.50.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $150.29 on Tuesday. 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 $19.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.53%.

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.