Fractal Investments LLC Lowers Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Fractal Investments LLC cut its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Fractal Investments LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $8,492,000. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 66.8% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 119,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,883,000 after purchasing an additional 47,799 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Westlake by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the third quarter worth about $790,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $577,344,000 after purchasing an additional 96,152 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.86. The company had a trading volume of 381,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,488. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $146.92 and its 200-day moving average is $136.83. The company has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

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.