Edgestream Partners L.P. Invests $3.55 Million in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,554,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Westlake by 3.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $128.40 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 180.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.54. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.