Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $4,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,353,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $100.73 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $99.18 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.36.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

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.