1832 Asset Management L.P. Decreases Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. has significantly reduced its position in Westlake Corp. by 59.1%, selling over 222,000 shares and now holds approximately 0.12% of the company.
• Westlake recently missed earnings expectations, reporting a loss of ($0.09) EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.06 and experiencing a 7.9% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, which reflects a yield of 2.3% based on an annual payout.

1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 59.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 222,260 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.12% of Westlake worth $15,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Westlake by 251.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WLK. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Trading Up 9.3%

WLK opened at $90.4550 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.09. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -170.67, a PEG ratio of 398.33 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.Westlake's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Westlake's payout ratio is -400.00%.

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.

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