California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,044 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System's holdings in Westlake were worth $6,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. 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 during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.15.

Westlake Trading Up 3.1 %

Westlake stock traded up $2.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.70. 654,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,890. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.94. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $81.41 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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