Vanguard Group Inc. Has $444.61 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 21,293 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.01% of Westlake worth $444,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Westlake from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded down $7.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $94.30. 1,118,222 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 546,571. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $93.68 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's fifty day moving average is $109.02 and its 200 day moving average is $122.07.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

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.