Robotti Robert Buys 216 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Robotti Robert grew its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Westlake comprises about 3.3% of Robotti Robert’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Robotti Robert’s holdings in Westlake were worth $18,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Westlake by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Westlake by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler cut Westlake from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.00.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $101.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.53. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $99.09 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

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.