Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,956 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,956 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $150.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.37. The company has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.63, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.20. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.83.

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.