Strs Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Strs Ohio lowered its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,888 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Westlake were worth $4,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.9% during the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 9,443 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 19.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.43.

Westlake Stock Up 0.2 %

Westlake stock opened at $148.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake Co. has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $146.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.09.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. Analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last three months. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Westlake

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.