MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 882,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 47,732 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.69% of Westlake worth $101,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after buying an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 348.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 283,100 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,569,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,314. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $76.97 and a twelve month high of $161.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.62 and a 200-day moving average of $109.50. The stock has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.30, 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 announced 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.69.

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.