Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Position Cut by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,628 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring 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 Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 717,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.74 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $113.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.05. The company has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a PE ratio of 157.79, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.07.

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.