Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 58,093 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,093 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.76% of Westlake worth $112,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 worth $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Westlake by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.54.

Westlake Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.25. 202,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 630,200. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. 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 twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.47%.

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.