Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 15,303 Westlake Corporation $WLK

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 15,303 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the first quarter worth $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 43.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $74.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of -7.81 and a beta of 0.63. Westlake Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.48 and its 200 day moving average is $93.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.11) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.533 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -22.13%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.92.

Westlake Profile

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.