Raymond James & Associates Acquires 304 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Westlake were worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $3,254,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $544,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,179,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $131.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 63.53, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $118.64 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.92.

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.