2,531 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Bought by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 178.39, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day moving average of $145.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 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.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

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.