Verition Fund Management LLC Has $2.58 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 57.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,298 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,295,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 318,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $47,835,000 after acquiring an additional 82,617 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $125.87 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $135.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 177.28, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.16. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.