Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 29,726 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

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 Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 29,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Westlake worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WLK. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.83.

Westlake Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $0.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $113.45. 421,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $126.51 and its 200 day moving average is $138.23. 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 $112.63 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.