Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Westlake were worth $811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 3.1 %

WLK opened at $108.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $104.74 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

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.