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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 86.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 13,783 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 2.4% in 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. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Westlake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.64. 979,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,525. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $70.28 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $89.42 and its 200-day moving average is $107.68.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.