Moran Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLKFree Report) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,621 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $10,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Westlake in the third quarter valued at $1,353,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Get Our Latest Report on WLK

Westlake Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of WLK stock traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $126.92. 26,593 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 445,084. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $138.80 and a 200 day moving average of $144.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.64 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLKGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

About Westlake

(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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

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