Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 96.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 39.9% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.09. 158,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 501,439. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $81.29 and a 12-month high of $138.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.28.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.52). Westlake had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be given a $0.357 dividend. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Westlake from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.67.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $131,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,388. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Profile

Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.