Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Takes $205,000 Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $127.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 179.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.78.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.67.

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.