Appian Way Asset Management LP Sells 8,007 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Appian Way Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 52.8%, selling 8,007 shares, and now owns approximately 7,165 shares valued at $717,000.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Westlake, with Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosting theirs by 3,005.6% during the first quarter.
• Westlake recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.47 to $0.53, with the annualized dividend yield now at 2.4%.

Appian Way Asset Management LP cut its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 52.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 8,007 shares during the quarter. Westlake comprises approximately 0.2% of Appian Way Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Appian Way Asset Management LP's holdings in Westlake were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 17.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,120,000 after buying an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $112,711,000 after buying an additional 58,093 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Westlake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 882,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,175,000 after buying an additional 47,732 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 799,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $91,634,000 after buying an additional 204,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter worth $72,974,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of WLK stock traded up $1.75 on Friday, hitting $89.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,200,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,574. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.45. The company has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of -168.66 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $151.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The business's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -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.