Planned Solutions Inc. Buys New Stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 625 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 9,443 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 55.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.6% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 9,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.31.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $152.35 on Thursday. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $103.28 and a 12 month high of $152.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.77.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.