Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Raises Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Westlake by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 1.0 %

Westlake stock opened at $129.16 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $118.64 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 181.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.