Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) is Robotti Robert’s 7th Largest Position

Robotti Robert boosted its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Westlake makes up approximately 3.3% of Robotti Robert’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Robotti Robert owned about 0.13% of Westlake worth $18,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $55,542,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 525.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth $19,718,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $101.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 143.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.53. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $99.09 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WLK. Piper Sandler lowered Westlake from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.00.

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.