Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,952 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 42,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.72% of Westlake worth $134,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at about $101,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $122,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.00.

Westlake Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $144.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $143.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.49. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.50, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

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.