Net Worth Advisory Group Invests $292,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $1,273,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,254,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Westlake by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $544,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $139.34 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.14. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.92.

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.