30,000 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,440,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Westlake Trading Down 13.2 %

Shares of WLK traded down $12.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,721,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,241. The stock's 50 day moving average is $98.40 and its 200 day moving average is $113.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 112.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. 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 1 year low of $78.51 and a 1 year high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

About Westlake

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.