KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 11,900 Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,364,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Westlake by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 42,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,387,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded down $7.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,118,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,573. The stock has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 132.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50 day moving average is $109.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.07. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $93.97 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company 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%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Westlake from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.21.

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.