KBC Group NV Buys 707 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Westlake by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $114.43 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $108.95 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $118.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.90. The stock has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

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.