OLD Mission Capital LLC Invests $1.05 Million in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,051,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Up 13.1 %

WLK traded up $10.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.96. 1,568,728 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,284. 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 52 week low of $81.41 and a 52 week high of $161.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $105.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WLK. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.15.

About Westlake

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.