Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Acquired by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 108.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 350,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 182,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Westlake worth $40,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,292,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.73. 121,537 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,163. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $81.41 and a 12-month high of $161.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.10. The company has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.23.

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.