Peterson Wealth Services Purchases 484 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 484 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Westlake were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.79.

Westlake Trading Down 0.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $111.06 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.07 and a 200 day moving average of $131.24.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake 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.