9,000 Shares in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Westlake by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WLK. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $149.68 on Tuesday. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 in the last quarter. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.