Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 15,460 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,460 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.07% of Westlake worth $9,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 11,091 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $534,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $11,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 2.1%

WLK opened at $73.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a PE ratio of 103.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $156.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.85.

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.

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