Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 191.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,700 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.08% of Westlake worth $11,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 163.9% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $1.03 on Tuesday, reaching $72.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 562,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,031. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.29, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.85. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $70.28 and a 52-week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS 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 return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given 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 2.89%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.54.

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.