Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Holdings Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 29,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Westlake worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $544,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $27,179,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 89.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,400,000 after buying an additional 20,913 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $127.04. The company had a trading volume of 434,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,010. The stock has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $139.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $162.17.

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.