ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Has $39.53 Million Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 155,618 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.27% of Westlake worth $39,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $11,242,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,098,000 after buying an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 4.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.76. 302,284 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 552,262. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.98. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $82.33 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.41, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.21.

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.