Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) is Walnut Level Capital LLC's 9th Largest Position

Walnut Level Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 60.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 27,285 shares during the quarter. Westlake comprises 3.1% of Walnut Level Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Walnut Level Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Westlake worth $8,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $3.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.09. 856,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 543,121. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $98.51 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.12. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.57, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WLK. UBS Group raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.21.

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.