Polymer Capital Management US LLC Takes Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,009,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,630,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 348.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,327,000 after buying an additional 283,100 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 525.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in Westlake by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 344,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $39,530,000 after buying an additional 155,618 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.15.

Westlake Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE WLK traded up $2.72 on Friday, reaching $89.70. The company had a trading volume of 654,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,890. The firm has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $81.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

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.