Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Increases Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,838 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.06% of Westlake worth $11,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth $43,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE WLK traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $141.80. 318,867 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 434,930. The business's 50 day moving average is $144.19 and its 200-day moving average is $148.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.17.

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.