Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $203,924,000 after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $50,961,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $25,154,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 120,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,437,000 after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Westlake by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 112,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,276,000 after acquiring an additional 17,916 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $141.20 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLK. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Westlake 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.