Sei Investments Co. Raises Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 96.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Westlake by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Westlake by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 141,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,019,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Westlake by 525.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,766,000 after purchasing an additional 233,838 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WLK shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.15.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.70. 654,075 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 563,758. The stock's 50-day moving average is $104.69 and its 200 day moving average is $118.72. The stock has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.33, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $81.41 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is 45.36%.

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.