Versor Investments LP Sells 9,829 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Versor Investments LP trimmed its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 66.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,016 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,829 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Westlake by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $112.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $113.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.43. 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 market cap of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $104.74 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WLK. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.07.

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.