DnB Asset Management AS Buys 282 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $100.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.68. The firm has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 141.04, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $97.37 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Seven 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

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.