Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Decreases Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp decreased its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,484 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Westlake by 56.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,953,000 after acquiring an additional 109,433 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $577,344,000 after buying an additional 96,152 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $159,917,000 after buying an additional 66,614 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,129,000 after buying an additional 63,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $8,492,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded down $2.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $147.06. 22,036 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,805. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.