Xponance Inc. Acquires 1,507 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $102.76 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.93. 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 52-week low of $99.18 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 144.74, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.07.

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.