DNB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 364.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,774 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Westlake were worth $4,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Clarius Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.55.

Westlake Trading Up 7.9 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $144.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 72.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.20.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

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.