Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys New Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 131,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,718,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.10% of Westlake as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WLK. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Westlake by 17.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $316,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 364.1% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 29,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,204,000 after acquiring an additional 22,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $128.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.54. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Company 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.