UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 346,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,505 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.27% of Westlake worth $39,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 193,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $22,137,000 after purchasing an additional 106,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $2.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.56. 955,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 644,450. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $69.37 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $88.25 and its 200 day moving average is $106.61.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is 70.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.54.

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.