Comerica Bank Buys 4,501 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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 upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.08.

Westlake Trading Up 7.3%

Shares of WLK stock traded up $5.87 on Monday, hitting $85.87. The company had a trading volume of 630,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,109. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $76.97 and a twelve month high of $161.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $95.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.05. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is 70.47%.

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.