Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $12.31 Million Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,588 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Westlake worth $12,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $94,875,000 after buying an additional 299,597 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Westlake by 525.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.64. The company had a trading volume of 979,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,146. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.42 and a 200-day moving average of $107.47. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $70.28 and a 52 week high of $161.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WLK shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.54.

Westlake 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.