Two Sigma Advisers LP Acquires 67,700 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 191.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 67,700 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.08% of Westlake worth $11,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in 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 valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Westlake by 4.7% in the fourth 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, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Westlake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 1.2%

WLK stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.82. The stock had a trading volume of 249,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,533. The firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.17, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $70.28 and a twelve month high of $161.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Westlake's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $76.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.92.

About Westlake

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.