Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 221,322 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments cut its Westlake stake by 43.7% in the first quarter, selling 221,322 shares and leaving it with 285,434 shares worth about $33.3 million.
• Westlake’s latest quarterly results were weak: it reported EPS of -$0.77, missing expectations, on revenue of $2.65 billion, which was also below estimates and down 6.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious, with Westlake carrying a Hold consensus rating and an average price target of $99.29; shares recently traded at $77.66, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 285,434 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 221,322 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Westlake worth $33,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Westlake by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 181,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $21,153,000 after buying an additional 6,752 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 3.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,481 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Westlake in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has 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 target price of $99.29.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $77.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.12 and a beta of 0.62. The company's fifty day moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day moving average is $94.53.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Westlake 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.

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