Aberdeen Group plc Invests $1 Million in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has purchased 10,001 shares of Westlake Corp., valued at approximately $1 million, marking a new position in the specialty chemicals company.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in Westlake, with Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosting its holdings by 732.7%, and overall institutional investors hold 28.40% of the stock.
• Westlake Corp. recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, indicating a positive change with an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,001 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Westlake by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Westlake by 3,005.6% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of WLK traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 882,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,667. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.51 and a 200 day moving average of $88.72. The company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -162.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 378.89 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $151.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WLK. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.