Crestline Management LP Buys New Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Westlake by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after buying an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Westlake by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,755,000 after acquiring an additional 20,854 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Westlake by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 75,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,612,000 after acquiring an additional 26,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,588 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,500. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.55. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $76.97 and a 12-month high of $161.31.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.08.

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.