Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $287,000 Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 699.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter worth $55,542,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Westlake by 525.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,766,000 after purchasing an additional 233,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter worth $19,718,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $105.97 on Wednesday. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $104.74 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 149.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

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.