Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Takes Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 369,564 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,542,000. Westlake accounts for about 3.7% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP owned about 0.29% of Westlake at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded down $0.84 on Tuesday, hitting $127.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,470. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake Co. has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 295.77%.

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.