Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires New Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 55,289 shares of Westlake, valued at approximately $4.04 million, while institutional investors collectively own 28.4% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Westlake has an overall “Hold” rating, with 10 Holds, three Buys and two Sells, and an average price target of $93.92.
• Westlake’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $3.27 billion, up 10.8% year over year; the company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 55,289 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,036,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Westlake by 9.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Westlake by 43.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 18.2% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WLK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.92.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Westlake Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:WLK opened at $78.86 on Thursday. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The firm has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.23 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.77.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.11) EPS. Westlake's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.13%.

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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