Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 7,059 Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has acquired 7,059 shares of Westlake Corp., valued at approximately $706,000, as part of its investment strategy in the specialty chemicals sector.
• Westlake Corp. recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.53, up from $0.47, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.4%.
• Westlake's stock is currently trading at $89.59, showing a 5.3% increase, despite a recent quarterly loss of $0.09 EPS against an estimated $0.06 EPS.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,150,000 after acquiring an additional 102,268 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $112,711,000 after acquiring an additional 58,093 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 366.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,974,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Up 5.3%

NYSE:WLK opened at $89.59 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $83.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.80. Westlake Corp. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $151.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -169.03 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.