Optas LLC Acquires Shares of 1,799 Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Optas LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,799 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Westlake by 134.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,364 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Westlake by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Westlake by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,078,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $111.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.46 and a 200 day moving average of $132.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $108.56 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WLK. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial started coverage on Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.79.

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.