Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 606 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 699.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after buying an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $115.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.44. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $115.00 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.73, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 295.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.83.

Westlake Company 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.