453 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Bought by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 453 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,179,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 26.4% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 9,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $337,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 404.7% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 7,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 16.0% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $144.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.00.

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.