QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,436 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 16.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,639 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,436 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,508,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 28,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,284,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 214.2% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 14,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 9,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $3,254,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Westlake Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE WLK opened at $136.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 191.92, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.