Citigroup Inc. Has $2.43 Million Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Citigroup Inc. reduced its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) by 59.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,721 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 35,316 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WLK. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 189.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $99,029,000 after buying an additional 524,828 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,012,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,820,000 after purchasing an additional 342,204 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $22,014,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Westlake by 31.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,353,000 after purchasing an additional 168,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 7.3% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,221,783 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,029,000 after purchasing an additional 150,636 shares during the last quarter. 26.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $115.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $81.29 and a 1-year high of $136.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $113.88 and its 200-day moving average is $112.59.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 12.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.357 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Westlake from $122.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Westlake from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Westlake from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Westlake Company Profile

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Westlake Corp. Is a global diversified industrial company, which engages in the manufacturing and supplying of essential products. It operates through the Performance and Essential Materials, and Housing and Infrastructure Products segments. The Performance and Essential Materials segment includes Westlake North American Vinyls, Westlake North American Chlor-alkali and Derivatives, Westlake European and Asian Chlorovinyls, Westlake Olefins, Westlake Polyethylene, and Westlake Epoxy.