MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases New Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,439 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.6% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 3.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $147.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 74.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.81.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given 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 yield of 1.42%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WLK. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.50.

Westlake Company 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.