Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 406,712 Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 406,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,630,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.32% of Westlake at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Westlake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,098,000 after acquiring an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Westlake by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after acquiring an additional 23,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 574,068 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock opened at $88.54 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $85.31 and a one year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.71, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.71.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

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.