Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Acquired by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $102.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.74, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.18 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.93.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

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.