Quantbot Technologies LP Reduces Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,347 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $100.73 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $99.18 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.87, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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, Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

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.