Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Has $209,000 Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 1,360.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Westlake were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Westlake by 56.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,953,000 after buying an additional 109,433 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $577,344,000 after purchasing an additional 96,152 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $159,917,000 after purchasing an additional 66,614 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 10.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,129,000 after purchasing an additional 63,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,492,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.79.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $149.18 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.