Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 82,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $9,430,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Westlake at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded down $4.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $101.82. 1,018,170 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,862. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $112.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a PE ratio of 143.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $100.26 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.07.

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.