State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $2.14 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,768 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,070 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,961,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Westlake by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 48,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,742,000 after acquiring an additional 16,964 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Westlake by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 9,995 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Westlake by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $146.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $143.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.41. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.37, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.00.

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.