Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 606 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 4.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wahed Invest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Westlake by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $180,154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,838 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $815,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 66,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 13,851 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $115.54 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 162.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16. 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 12 month low of $115.00 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Company 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.