Two Sigma Investments LP Trims Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,320 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 37,289 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.08% of Westlake worth $11,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth 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 period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 163.9% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.54.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.90. 1,358,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 642,024. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.85. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $70.28 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.68, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for 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%. Westlake's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.47%.

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.