RiverFront Investment Group LLC Takes $1.16 Million Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 2.6% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Westlake by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $148.98 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The company’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 year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 105.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WLK. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.50.

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.