Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,928 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,685 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Westlake worth $7,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.9% during the 1st 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st 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, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of WLK traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 863,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,874. The stock has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Westlake Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $153.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $77.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.77.

About Westlake

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.