AXQ Capital LP Takes Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,387,000. Westlake comprises approximately 0.6% of AXQ Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Westlake by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Westlake by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 141,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,019,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Westlake by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $100.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 141.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.03 and its 200 day moving average is $124.36. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.18 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

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.