Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes $19.72 Million Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 131,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,718,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $128.40 on Monday. 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 50 day moving average price of $136.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.54. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

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.