Optas LLC Invests $206,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Optas LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,799 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $180,154,000 after buying an additional 9,838 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 699.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after acquiring an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 4.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter worth $55,542,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 0.6 %

WLK opened at $111.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.46 and a 200 day moving average of $132.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $108.56 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 156.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.

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.