Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Lmcg Investments LLC

Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $4,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $132.14. 456,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 390,166. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 63.53, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $118.25 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.66.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 100.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.92.

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.