Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Holdings Trimmed by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 49.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Westlake were worth $811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $108.79 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.74 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

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.