KBC Group NV Reduces Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,222 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,334 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $53,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 180.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Westlake by 49.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Westlake by 58.1% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Westlake from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.19.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $114.01 on Tuesday. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.08.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.12%.

About Westlake

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.