Investors Research Corp Has $280,000 Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Investors Research Corp lowered its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Westlake were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WLK. Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.79.

Westlake Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $153.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.43, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.73.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.