Westlake Corporation $WLK Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,129 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $21,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 14.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Westlake by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $70.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.59. Westlake Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of -7.40 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.11) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.5330 per share. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Westlake’s payout ratio is -22.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on Westlake in a research note on Monday, October 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on Westlake in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.13.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials, as well as products used in housing and infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers in construction, packaging, healthcare, consumer products, automotive, and other industrial markets.

Westlake’s materials portfolio includes chlor-alkali and derivative chemicals, polyethylene, PVC, vinyl intermediates, epoxy resins, and other specialty products. These materials are used in applications such as water treatment, coatings, adhesives, plastics, medical products, and packaging.

Through its housing and infrastructure businesses, Westlake also produces building products including vinyl siding, trim, roofing products, pipe, fittings, and related components.