Duality Advisers LP Has $636,000 Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Duality Advisers LP lessened its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,542 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,857 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Westlake by 0.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Westlake by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 19.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Westlake by 55.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $149.86 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.83. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.