CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Reduces Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,519 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,789 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.89. The company had a trading volume of 118,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 131.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.40 and a 200-day moving average of $114.24. 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.25.

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.