Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Position Increased by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 732.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 873,888 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.77% of Westlake worth $113,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,104,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $307,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $80.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.25. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 112.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $78.51 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WLK. Barclays cut their target price on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.25.

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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