Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Stock Holdings Lifted by Merewether Investment Management LP

Merewether Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 269,167 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 45,801 shares during the quarter. Westlake makes up about 1.9% of Merewether Investment Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Merewether Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.21% of Westlake worth $40,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Down 1.6 %

Westlake stock opened at $126.68 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.