Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $12,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Westlake by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,771 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Westlake by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 34,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Westlake by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,389,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $126.66 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day moving average of $145.32. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.