Versor Investments LP Has $575,000 Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Versor Investments LP decreased its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 66.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,829 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.07.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $112.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.43. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.74 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio 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.