Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 2,055 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Westlake by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $180,154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,445,000 after buying an additional 520,669 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,542,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $102.76 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $99.18 and a 52-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 stock has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 144.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.93.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

About Westlake

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.