Erste Asset Management GmbH Increases Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.11% of Westlake worth $16,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 233,838 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,411,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 5,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.07.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded down $1.72 on Tuesday, hitting $105.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 662,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,598. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.28. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.62 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. 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 results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

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.