GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $420,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $127.93 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.86. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 180.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.17.

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.