Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 643 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 28.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,898 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Westlake by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,771 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake during the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Westlake by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 34,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Westlake by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,389,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

Westlake Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day moving average of $145.35. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 178.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results 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). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Company Profile

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.