Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 134.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 4,364 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Westlake were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $10,302,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $217,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,185,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 35,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded down $1.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $140.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 577,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,602. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.40. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.39, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 100.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WLK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $165.92.

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.