Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $376,000 Investment in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 1.1 %

Westlake stock opened at $148.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.00. Westlake Co. has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.79.

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.