Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $24.46 Million Stock Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 3.4%, owning 244,497 shares valued at approximately $24.46 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Westlake Corp. has seen significant institutional interest, with Victory Capital Management increasing its stake by 17.7% and Balyasny Asset Management increasing its position by a remarkable 732.7% in the recent quarters.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.47, resulting in an annualized payout of $2.12 and a yield of 2.6%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,143 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Westlake worth $24,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Westlake by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Westlake by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Westlake by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $3.2690 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $87.3310. 630,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,036,921. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -164.94, a PEG ratio of 398.32 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. Westlake Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.55 and a twelve month high of $153.34.

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 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

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.