Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Chairman Sells $3,120,724.44 in Stock

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Westlake Stock Up 2.1%

WLK stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.78. 1,023,727 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,247,725. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.87. 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 $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.11) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is -22.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $223,000. Robotti Robert bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $17,183,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $240,474,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $158,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at about $1,234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company 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.