Franklin Resources Inc. Has $249,000 Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 699.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after acquiring an additional 520,669 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 90.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after buying an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after buying an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $114.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 161.48, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $112.63 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly 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 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 analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WLK. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.83.

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.