American Century Companies Inc. Has $2.27 Million Stock Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 46.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 20,016 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WLK traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.39. 1,200,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,105,574. Westlake Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $151.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of -168.66 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.27.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Westlake's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WLK shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Company 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.