59,100 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Acquired by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 59,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,559,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $50,961,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Westlake by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 48,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Westlake by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 102,250.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $147.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a PE ratio of 74.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLK. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

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.