Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Acquired by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 90.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.30% of Westlake worth $58,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $165.92.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.09. 390,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 434,636. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.96%.

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.