Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $42.67 Million Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 84.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 372,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 170,791 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.29% of Westlake worth $42,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Westlake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 5.3% in the 4th 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 shares of Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $86.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.55. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $76.97 and a twelve month high of $161.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 121.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.08.

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.

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