Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $3.94 Million Stock 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 lowered its stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $1.62 on Tuesday, hitting $86.76. The stock had a trading volume of 294,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,563. Westlake Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.55 and a twelve month 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $83.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.96. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -163.62 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio 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.