HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Has $6.95 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 315.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,058 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's holdings in Westlake were worth $6,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 4.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 23,558 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,104,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $93.56. 265,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,635. The business's fifty day moving average is $101.83 and its 200 day moving average is $116.14. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $81.41 and a 52 week high of $161.31. The company has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 131.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. 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 (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). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors 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 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WLK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.25.

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.