RiverFront Investment Group LLC Makes New Investment in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Westlake by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $101,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.50.

Westlake Stock Down 1.2 %

WLK traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $147.38. 358,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,737. The firm has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.65 and a 200 day moving average of $148.81.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 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.