4,406 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Purchased by Transce3nd LLC

Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,406 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Westlake by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Westlake by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $2.75 on Tuesday, hitting $93.49. The company had a trading volume of 428,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,774. The stock has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.14. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $81.41 and a 1-year 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 quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WLK. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.25.

About Westlake

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.