Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 101,721 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) by 132.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 178,305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,721 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $20,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 163.9% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Westlake from $103.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.54.

Read Our Latest Research Report on WLK

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $73.72 on Thursday. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $73.61 and a 12 month high of $161.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.51. 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 market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 103.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Westlake Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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