Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 30,051 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 1,737.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,051 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Westlake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 348.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,327,000 after buying an additional 283,100 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 31,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,577,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Westlake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 22,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $89.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $81.41 and a 1-year high of $161.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.69 and a 200-day moving average of $118.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.15.

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.