CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 10,789 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,519 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,789 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $642,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 13,419 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $2,203,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.42. 427,603 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 567,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $81.41 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.53.

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). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

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.