Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,783 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 86.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 13,783 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Westlake by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,125,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 11,091 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, hitting $72.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,092,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,648. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $68.55 and a 12 month high of $156.95. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.75, 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. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $84.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.41.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $118.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.85.

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.