Brooklyn Investment Group Invests $62,000 in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 410 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WLK opened at $128.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a PE ratio of 181.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 295.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

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.