Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $3.94 Million Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has sold 22,477 shares of Westlake Corp., reducing its ownership by 36.3% to 39,364 shares valued at approximately $3.94 million.
• Westlake Corp. recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share at ($0.09) compared to the consensus estimate of $0.06, and a year-over-year revenue decline of 7.9%.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53, representing an annualized yield of 2.5% for shareholders.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its holdings in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,364 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 22,477 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Westlake by 251.1% during 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 increased its position in Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Westlake by 71.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Westlake by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Westlake by 3,005.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,200,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,574. Westlake Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.55 and a 12 month high of $151.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 83.57 and a beta of 0.92. 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's 50-day moving average is $83.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.27.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change 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%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.