Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $220,000 Investment in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 189.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,029,000 after buying an additional 524,828 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 959.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 554,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 501,774 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 420.1% during the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 610,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,851,000 after purchasing an additional 493,432 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,719,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $30,261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 note on Monday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $152.65. The stock had a trading volume of 86,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,896. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $153.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $141.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

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.