Cibc World Markets Corp Sells 502 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Westlake were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 141,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,019,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 525.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $13,411,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Westlake by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $101.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 143.07, a P/E/G 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.23 and a 200-day moving average of $123.53. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $99.18 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.00.

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.