MFA Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 4.1%

NYSE WLK opened at $73.30 on Wednesday. Westlake Corp. has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.75 and its 200-day moving average is $100.96.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on Westlake and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.85.

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.