SG Americas Securities LLC Takes Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 100,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $11,480,000. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.08% of Westlake at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 89.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 20,913 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Westlake by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 4,364 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Westlake by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,078,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.42. The stock had a trading volume of 202,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,848. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $108.95 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $119.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) 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). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Westlake's payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.85.

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.