Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,297 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 0.43% of Westlake worth $63,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $444,610,000 after buying an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $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. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Westlake by 525.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.23.

Westlake Trading Up 1.7 %

WLK stock traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $91.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 602,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,487. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $81.41 and a 12 month high of $161.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $103.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.91. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. 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.