IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 1,078 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Westlake were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $203,924,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,348,000 after acquiring an additional 33,100 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,179,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,154,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $133.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $113.57 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.16. The stock has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS 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 $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 100.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.92.

Westlake Company 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.