Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 20,913 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 20,913 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $6,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,721 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 31.5% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $504,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 45,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,524,000 after acquiring an additional 5,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $122,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $150.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.48 and a 200-day moving average of $148.74. The company has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a PE ratio of 75.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.