First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquires 750 shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at $101,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at $122,000. 28.40% of shares are held by institutional investors.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note from Friday, August 23. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.00, according to MarketBeat.

Read our latest research report on WLK

Westlake share performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $144.28 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a PE ratio of 72.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94, and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.50 and a 200 day moving average of $148.49.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake increases dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.10 and a yield of 1.46%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.53%.

Westlake Company Profile

(Free Report)

Westlake Corporation is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of performance and essential materials, as well as 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 Materials and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.

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