Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 84.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 201,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 91,973 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.16% of Westlake worth $30,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 318,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $47,835,000 after buying an additional 82,617 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP grew its position in Westlake by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,348,000 after purchasing an additional 33,100 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at about $27,179,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.
WLK opened at $124.34 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 175.13, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.55.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 295.77%.
In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $162.17.
View Our Latest Research Report on Westlake
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Westlake, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Westlake wasn't on the list.
While Westlake currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.