Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Invests $376,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 89,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,500,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $1,260,000. Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $8,492,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Westlake by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WLK shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.79.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $148.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.32 and a 200 day moving average of $136.00. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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.