Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,610,000 after buying an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 934,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $107,092,000 after acquiring an additional 43,544 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE WLK opened at $93.19 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.53. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $81.41 and a one year high of $161.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.25.

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.