1832 Asset Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 187,672 Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 187,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,179,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.15% of Westlake at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Capital World Investors increased its position in Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after buying an additional 675,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $50,961,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,154,000. Natixis lifted its holdings in Westlake by 41,979.2% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 85,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,988,000 after purchasing an additional 84,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 460.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after purchasing an additional 69,838 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Westlake Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $145.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.56. The stock has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.53%.

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.