Norges Bank Purchases New Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 406,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $46,630,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.32% of Westlake as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.15.

Westlake Stock Up 13.1 %

Shares of WLK stock traded up $10.88 on Wednesday, reaching $93.96. 1,568,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 560,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.60 and a 200-day moving average of $119.75. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $79.94 and a one year high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's 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.