Vanguard Group Inc. Has $265.06 Million Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,439,631 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 83,179 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.68% of Westlake worth $265,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 79.9% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 48,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,646,000 after acquiring an additional 21,319 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $404,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 142.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 15,193 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Westlake by 246.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after buying an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.80.

Westlake Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $105.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.82. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.02, a PEG ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $114.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.12%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.