Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Westlake were worth $2,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $46,630,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Westlake by 348.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,327,000 after purchasing an additional 283,100 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.23.

Westlake Trading Up 1.7 %

WLK stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.86. 603,314 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 564,857. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.51. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $81.41 and a 1 year high of $161.31.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date 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.