Xponance Inc. Has $762,000 Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,265 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $3,254,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $544,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $207,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $150.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.48 and a 200-day moving average of $148.74. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WLK. Citigroup lifted their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.