Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 365,916 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 11.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,843,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 365,916 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $411,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WLK. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Westlake by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 4,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Westlake by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,147,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $136.44 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.31 and its 200 day moving average is $148.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

About Westlake

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.