Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 10,113.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,893 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $5,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Westlake by 404.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Westlake by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $75.86 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.93. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.85, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $156.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WLK. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.85.

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.