Peterson Wealth Services Makes New $212,000 Investment in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Peterson Wealth Services bought a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 51.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $148.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $146.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly 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). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WLK. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday. Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.