Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 729,521 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $72,974,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.57% of Westlake at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Westlake by 0.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WLK
Westlake Stock Down 1.7%
Shares of WLK stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,004,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,698. Westlake Corp. has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $153.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -158.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 376.08 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Westlake's quarterly 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -396.23%.
Westlake Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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