Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 19,016 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 41.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 19,016 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Westlake by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,242,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 5.3% in 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 buying an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WLK. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $93.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $81.41 and a one year high of $161.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 131.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $99.74 and its 200 day moving average is $114.39.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.25%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

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.