2,746 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Bought by BTC Capital Management Inc.

BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $329,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $854,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Westlake by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after acquiring an additional 675,725 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE WLK opened at $147.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $153.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.02. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $107.34 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.00.

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.