Aigen Investment Management LP Takes Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings 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 Up 0.4 %

Shares of WLK opened at $128.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $139.54 and its 200 day moving average is $145.66. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 180.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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 net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

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.